Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC Invests $12.73 Million in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 650,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,734,000. Energy Transfer makes up approximately 4.9% of Mercuria Capital Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $469,920,000 after buying an additional 1,723,683 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $308,319,000 after buying an additional 388,073 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 13,139,924 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $210,896,000 after buying an additional 352,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,594,000 after buying an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET opened at $18.42 on Thursday. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $14.90 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The company has a market cap of $63.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.70 and a 200-day moving average of $18.14.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.06%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

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.