Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Sells 23,900 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC decreased its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 71,851 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 23,900 shares during the quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,350,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ET. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. TD Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank began coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.50.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:ET opened at $17.46 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.59.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The business had revenue of $19.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 102.33%.

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.