Empire Financial Management Company LLC Purchases 44,137 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Empire Financial Management Company LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 360,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,137 shares during the period. Energy Transfer comprises approximately 1.6% of Empire Financial Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Empire Financial Management Company LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $6,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 62.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,041 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 8,118 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 135,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,455,000 after buying an additional 7,901 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 436.5% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,179 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 50,919 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Energy Transfer

Here are the key news stories impacting Energy Transfer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Energy Transfer was upgraded to Strong Buy after analysts cited reduced project-execution risk and a raised full-year EBITDA outlook. First-quarter EBITDA reportedly increased about 20% year over year to approximately $4.9 billion, while guidance was raised to as much as $18.6 billion. NGL debottlenecking and the Hugh Brinson Pipeline are progressing ahead of or on schedule, potentially supporting additional earnings growth. Energy Transfer: Strong Buy On A Quiet Multiple, A Loud Guidance Raise
• Positive Sentiment: The partnership announced its nineteenth consecutive quarterly cash-distribution increase, raising the payment to $0.34 per common unit, or $1.36 annualized. The distribution is payable August 19 to unitholders of record August 7, reinforcing ET’s appeal to income-focused investors and signaling confidence in cash-flow growth. Energy Transfer Announces Nineteenth Consecutive Increase in Quarterly Cash Distribution
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential for faster distribution growth, with a projected 2027 payout of approximately $1.416 per unit and a forward yield above 7%. Diversification across midstream businesses and leverage below management’s target range further support the bullish income thesis. Energy Transfer: A 7% Yield With Upsizing Distribution Growth On The Horizon
• Neutral Sentiment: ET is being featured as a low-beta, relatively defensive stock amid market uncertainty and higher oil prices, which may attract investors seeking stability. Zacks.com Featured Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Leverage of roughly 3.85 times EBITDA remains higher than that of some peers, potentially limiting valuation expansion and keeping investors focused on debt reduction and distribution coverage. Energy Transfer: A 7% Yield With Upsizing Distribution Growth On The Horizon

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $20.23 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.55. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $16.18 and a 1-year high of $20.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.78 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 9.77%. The company’s revenue was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ET. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Energy Transfer Profile

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.