Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys 769 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,569 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,651 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $15.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.36 and a 200 day moving average of $14.33. The company has a market cap of $53.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $12.18 and a 12-month high of $16.04.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

About Energy Transfer

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.