Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Short Interest Down 8.8% in August

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 31,790,000 shares, a decrease of 8.8% from the July 31st total of 34,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Energy Transfer news, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $16.04. The company had a trading volume of 13,383,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,442,636. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $54.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $16.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.98%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 117.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.