Stephens Inc. AR Has $23.53 Million Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,201,288 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,736 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $23,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 34,320 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Private Client Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 16,915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160,678 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,148,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 67,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 12,847 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET opened at $19.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $13.80 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The firm has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.53%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ET. Barclays upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.82.

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.