Sigma Planning Corp Grows Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 23.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,820 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,939 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ET. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 25,155 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 51,757 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 14,182 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 67,236 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 6,893 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ET opened at $15.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $12.18 and a 52 week high of $16.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.27.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ET. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average 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.