HFG Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

HFG Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,225 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the period. HFG Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 14.5% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after buying an additional 9,341,798 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,270,000 after buying an additional 3,368,427 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,621,485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $353,576,000 after purchasing an additional 7,097,074 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $350,845,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976,676 shares during the period. Finally, First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,097,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ET. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.7 %

ET traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.34. 8,550,932 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,865,641. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $12.46 and a 12-month high of $16.40. The firm has a market cap of $55.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.73 and a 200 day moving average of $15.02.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $21.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.317 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.76%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.