Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,519 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ET. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,651 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,909 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $16.25 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $15.52 and a 200 day moving average of $14.43. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $12.18 and a 52 week high of $16.27. The company has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.63. 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 (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.317 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.81%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 116.51%.

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.