Tortoise Index Solutions LLC Grows Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Tortoise Index Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,567,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160,341 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for about 4.0% of Tortoise Index Solutions LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Tortoise Index Solutions LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $21,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ET. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,909 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 32,203 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 15,866 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 228,569 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,154,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.86.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded down $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $15.63. 2,587,377 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,984,875. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $12.46 and a 1-year high of $16.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.11%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 116.51%.

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.