Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 930 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,224 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 930 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $18.72 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.36. The company has a market capitalization of $64.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its 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%. Research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.325 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.95%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.