Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Boosts Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 999,694 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,664 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $19,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,013,973 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,269,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,805,816 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,494 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $19.15 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.98. The stock has a market cap of $65.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.52 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ET. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.55.

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.