ARK & TLK Investments LLC Buys Shares of 25,814 Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

ARK & TLK Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 25,814 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after acquiring an additional 9,341,798 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Energy Transfer by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $395,270,000 after acquiring an additional 3,368,427 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,621,485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $353,576,000 after buying an additional 7,097,074 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $350,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,976,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Reserve GP XIII Ltd bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $322,097,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.86.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ET traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.16. 13,276,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,263,883. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.68 and a 200-day moving average of $14.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.63. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $12.46 and a 1-year high of $16.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $21.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.36%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 116.51%.

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.