Sapient Capital LLC Buys 3,325 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,864 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,567,000 after purchasing an additional 45,172 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,297,000. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,586,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $148,621,000 after buying an additional 293,088 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 242,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 435.5% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 68,724 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 55,890 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $19.70 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.73 and its 200 day moving average is $17.71. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $13.95 and a 12-month high of $21.45. The stock has a market cap of $67.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ET shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.18.

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.