Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 401,491 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 54,666 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $7,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ET. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 60.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 98,436 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 37,136 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 35,274 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,519,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 48.9% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 36,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 16.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 796,099 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $12,777,000 after acquiring an additional 115,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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 objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $20.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.65. The firm has a market cap of $68.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $13.94 and a 1 year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.50%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

Energy Transfer Company 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.