Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Stake Cut by Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA reduced its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,750,952 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 116,513 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer makes up about 7.3% of Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $53,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 15.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,567,000 after buying an additional 45,172 shares in the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $1,297,000. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,586,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $148,621,000 after purchasing an additional 293,088 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 242,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 435.5% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 68,724 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 55,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $20.84 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.51. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $13.79 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The firm has a market cap of $71.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its 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. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.24%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 94.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ET. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.82.

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.