CWA Asset Management Group LLC Buys 23,249 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 99.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 23,249 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $913,000 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 32.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 94,442 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 23,079 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at $419,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,942 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,610.2% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 722,096 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 679,872 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 28.5% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 87,942 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 19,528 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:ET opened at $19.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $20.02.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 94.85%.

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.