Community Bank N.A. Grows Stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 55.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,651 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 951 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ET. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.1% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,865 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 768,870 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,787,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 871,533 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,228,000 after buying an additional 139,125 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 259,062 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,635,000 after acquiring an additional 87,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.4% during the third quarter. Lake Street Financial LLC now owns 277,083 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after acquiring an additional 6,551 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

ET stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,116,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,228,822. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.31. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $12.18 and a 52-week high of $16.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $53.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued 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. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.98%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ET. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

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.