Principal Street Partners LLC Sells 777 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Principal Street Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its position 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 buying an additional 951 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.14.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $15.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.47. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $12.21 and a 12-month high of $16.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 1.63.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company had revenue of $21.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.60%.

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.