Royal Bank of Canada Sells 358,501 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,998,538 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 358,501 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $97,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 66,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 34,105 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 152,529 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 108,954 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,134,000 after acquiring an additional 9,422 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.36.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $17.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.59.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.3275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.28%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.24%.

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.