Ellsworth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 73,239 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,425 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $388,000. Alterity Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Alterity Financial Group LLC now owns 17,800 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $152,000. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $196,000. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 42,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:ET traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.73. The stock had a trading volume of 12,326,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,981,812. The company has a market capitalization of $53.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.64. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $12.06 and a 1-year high of $15.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.01%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.57.

About Energy Transfer

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.