Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,294 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE ET opened at $18.72 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.19. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.90 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $64.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. Analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.95%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ET. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.55.

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.