AlphaQ Advisors LLC Acquires 718 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

AlphaQ Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up approximately 2.2% of AlphaQ Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. AlphaQ Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth $237,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 103.7% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 66,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 34,105 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,603 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 67,586 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Enclave Advisors LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Enclave Advisors LLC now owns 293,324 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,746,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ET shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.64.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.7%

ET opened at $18.12 on Wednesday. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The firm has a market cap of $62.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.3275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.23%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 99.24%.

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.