Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Increases Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 439,188 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 17,816 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for 1.7% of Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $6,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ET. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.87. The company had a trading volume of 10,878,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,472,339. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $12.18 and a 52-week high of $16.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.27. The stock has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.94%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 115.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

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.