Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Purchased by Cascade Financial Partners LLC

Cascade Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,734 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares during the quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 24,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares during the period. O Dell Group LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. O Dell Group LLC now owns 13,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $865,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE ET opened at $17.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.14. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The company has a market capitalization of $61.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. Equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 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, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

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.