Cullen Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Cullen Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 192,994 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 35,502 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter worth about $31,000. CNB Bank raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 54.4% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 2,586 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.95 per share, for a total transaction of $16,950,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,593,760.85. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE ET opened at $16.56 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.29. The stock has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.65. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The business had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.3325 per share. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 106.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price target on Energy Transfer and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.62.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates natural gas transportation pipeline, and natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and approximately 20,090 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. It also sells natural gas to electric utilities, independent power plants, local distribution and other marketing companies, and industrial end-users.