Hodges Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 329,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,298 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $5,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 230.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 736,634 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,335,000 after buying an additional 513,989 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 69,005 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 364.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 90,292 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after buying an additional 70,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6,759.3% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 26,820 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 26,429 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $16.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,587,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,432,486. The company has a market capitalization of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $12.46 and a 52-week high of $16.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $21.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 116.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ET. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

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.