Cullen Investment Group LTD. Acquires Shares of 61,700 Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 61,700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ET. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,909 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 32,203 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,195 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 42,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $15.22 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $51.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.64. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $12.18 and a 12 month high of $16.04.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 115.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.57.

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.