Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Reduces Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lessened its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 462,162 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,289 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for about 1.1% of Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $9,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $19.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.91. The stock has a market cap of $66.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $14.52 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 101.56%.

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.