Paragon Capital Management Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Paragon Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,724 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 12,834 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE ET traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $15.72. The stock had a trading volume of 8,836,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,141,670. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $12.46 and a one year high of $16.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $52.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.92.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 116.51%.

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.