Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC Sells 15,076 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC cut its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 237,627 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 15,076 shares during the period. Energy Transfer comprises approximately 3.9% of Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 34,320 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 130,202 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 135,647 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,657,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160,678 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,148,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Platform Technology Partners increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 67,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ET shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET opened at $17.98 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $21.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.48 and its 200 day moving average is $18.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $61.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.3275 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.24%.

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.