Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Boosts Stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1,572.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 750,340 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 705,475 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $14,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ET. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $19.92 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. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $13.80 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.61. The firm has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

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.