Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Sells 894 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp lessened its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 102,496 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 894 shares during the period. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in 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 valued at $185,594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,787,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,973 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,680.2% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 774,194 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,426,000 after purchasing an additional 730,706 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,572.4% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 750,340 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $14,699,000 after purchasing an additional 705,475 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ET. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.55.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ET stock opened at $18.21 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.87 and a twelve month high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.14%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.56%.

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.