Hardy Reed LLC Raises Stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,840 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the quarter. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.8 %

ET opened at $20.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.85 and its 200-day moving average is $17.86. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.52 and a 52-week high of $21.45. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.66%. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ET shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.18.

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.