Platform Technology Partners Purchases 553 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Platform Technology Partners grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the quarter. Platform Technology Partners’ holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ET shares. 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

ET opened at $19.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.61. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $13.80 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 EPS 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 $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.85%.

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.