Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 44.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,243 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 8,393 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,768 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $469,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,683 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 1,572.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 750,340 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $14,699,000 after purchasing an additional 705,475 shares during the last quarter. Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth about $12,734,000. Finally, Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,774,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.1 %

ET stock opened at $18.90 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.34.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.09.

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.