Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 961,030 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 250,771 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $15,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $594,769,000 after buying an additional 4,141,715 shares during the last quarter. Natixis grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $283,463,000 after buying an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,107,470 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $261,263,000 after buying an additional 171,720 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,350,521 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $246,376,000 after buying an additional 466,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,293,510 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $117,061,000 after buying an additional 536,047 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $17.09. The company had a trading volume of 30,748,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,373,100. The firm has a market cap of $58.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $13.11 and a twelve month high of $17.71.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. Energy Transfer's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.55%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 94.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ET. Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.