Cascade Investment Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,975 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,186 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up approximately 1.3% of Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $308,319,000 after purchasing an additional 388,073 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 13,139,924 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $210,896,000 after purchasing an additional 352,625 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,787,000 after buying an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET opened at $20.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $20.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ET. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.