Townsquare Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 923,322 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,364 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $14,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortis Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 31,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 33,575 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 102,176 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 44,383 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE ET opened at $19.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $13.11 and a twelve month high of $19.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.78 and a 200 day moving average of $16.22.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

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.