Western Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 67,236 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,893 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 3,501 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 424,932 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,755,000 after buying an additional 2,403 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Energy Transfer by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 260,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 31,407 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 159,249 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 192,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 57,880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ET. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $15.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 1.64. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $12.18 and a 52 week high of $16.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.60%.

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.