Energy Transfer LP $ET is Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s Largest Position

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,679,980 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 107,100 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for approximately 2.2% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $302,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ET. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CNB Bank grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 34.7% during the first quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 2,586 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.62.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE ET opened at $16.56 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.69 and a 200 day moving average of $17.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The company had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer 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.