Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Acquired by Kercheville Advisors LLC

Kercheville Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 137,150 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,250 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer makes up approximately 1.0% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 44.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ET shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET opened at $20.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.57. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $13.79 and a one year high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.59%.

Energy Transfer 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.