Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Takes Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 66,532 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,297,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,567,000 after purchasing an additional 45,172 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 242,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Derivatives LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,565,000. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 19,380.5% during the third quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 59,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $19.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $67.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.03. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $13.60 and a 12-month high of $20.02.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

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.