Independent Wealth Network Inc. Acquires 2,336 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,607 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter worth about $290,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 31.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 8,140 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 22.6% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 89,232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 16,445 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 77.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 46,063 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 20,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,027 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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 investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $20.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.26. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $13.79 and a 52-week high of $21.45. 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 (NYSE:ET) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.85%.

Energy Transfer Company 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.