Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,512,060 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up 2.5% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $319,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. United Community Bank acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased 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. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $17.96 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.58. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The company has a market capitalization of $61.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 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.