Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Boosts Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 3.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 764,646 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,150 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up about 0.8% of Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $12,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Berkley W R Corp grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 11.6% during the first quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 5,334,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $83,912,000 after acquiring an additional 555,445 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 95.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 145,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after buying an additional 71,386 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 491.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,290,364 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $20,297,000 after buying an additional 1,072,144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE:ET remained flat at $16.31 during mid-day trading on Monday. 23,924,445 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,655,060. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $12.89 and a one year high of $16.50. The stock has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.57.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The business had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.85%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.43%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.