Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 9,698 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 55.9% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,651 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,280,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,126,954. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.49 and its 200-day moving average is $14.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $54.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.63. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $12.18 and a twelve month high of $16.20.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. 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 yield of 7.90%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ET. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

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.