Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Stake Lowered by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lessened its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,583,871 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 611,374 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for 3.6% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $109,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $21,489,000 after buying an additional 1,269,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $19.92 on Friday. 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 LP has a 12 month low of $13.80 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The company has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.71 and its 200-day moving average is $17.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.53%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America started coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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 boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.82.

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.