Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 27,750 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 269,115 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,750 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG raised its position in Energy Transfer by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $395,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,368,427 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $350,845,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976,676 shares during the period. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $322,097,000. Natixis grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $283,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,785,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $231,640,000 after buying an additional 1,085,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $16.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.01 and its 200 day moving average is $15.57. The firm has a market cap of $54.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $12.89 and a one year high of $16.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The business had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 117.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 purchase, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 shares were 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 directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $67,562,909.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

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.