Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Stake Lifted by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,287,145 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,856 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer makes up approximately 2.2% of Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $64,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in 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 period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after buying an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 45.9% in 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 boosted its stake in 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 worth $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ET shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET opened at $20.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $13.79 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.57 and a 200-day moving average of $17.46. The company has a market capitalization of $70.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. 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.