Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. Has $594.77 Million Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,141,715 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for 7.9% of Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. owned about 1.09% of Energy Transfer worth $594,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Berkley W R Corp increased its position in shares of 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. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 95.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 145,894 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 71,386 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 491.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,290,364 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $20,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $1,368,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought 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 owns 123,385,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ET shares. Mizuho increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ET traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,985,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,479,544. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $16.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 5.19%. Energy Transfer's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is currently 117.43%.

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.