Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Increases Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 373.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,755 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ET. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $322,097,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,621,485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $353,576,000 after buying an additional 7,097,074 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $350,845,000 after buying an additional 3,976,676 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,447.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,756,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $518,460,000 after buying an additional 3,514,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,270,000 after buying an additional 3,368,427 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ET shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.27. 22,057,655 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,657,606. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.35. The stock has a market cap of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $12.46 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company had revenue of $21.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.87%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 116.51%.

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.