Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Buys 1,632 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,804 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ET. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,651 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Energy Transfer stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.73. 13,270,396 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,253,477. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $12.18 and a 52 week high of $16.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $53.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.39 and its 200-day moving average is $14.35.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.06%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.60%.

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.