Prospect Financial Services LLC Reduces Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Prospect Financial Services LLC lowered its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,148 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,466 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for 2.2% of Prospect Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Prospect Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ET. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. United Community Bank purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ET shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.64.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $17.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.62. 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 LP has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. The company’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, 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 Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 99.24%.

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.