River Road Asset Management LLC Invests $1.24 Million in Energy Transfer LP $ET

River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 74,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ET. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,679,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $464,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,532,000. TMB Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $689,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,482 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.1%

ET stock opened at $18.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $16.18 and a twelve month high of $20.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.42.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.43 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, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.3375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 112.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.45.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.