CNA Financial Corp Has $8.11 Million Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

CNA Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 500,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for about 4.5% of CNA Financial Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. CNA Financial Corp’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $8,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE:ET traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,864,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,442,986. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.10 and a 200-day moving average of $15.66. The company has a market capitalization of $54.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $12.90 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS 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 company had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 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 paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 117.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought 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 owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200 in the last quarter. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ET. Morgan Stanley raised 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 Monday, June 10th. Mizuho upped 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 lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

Energy Transfer 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.