EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 8,167 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,326 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 8,167 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ET. Barclays boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $17.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $21.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.51. The firm has a market cap of $59.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 99.24%.

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.