Professional Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Professional Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 16,401 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 86.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, IMA Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $15.61. The company had a trading volume of 4,318,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,470,768. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.64. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $12.06 and a 52-week high of $15.74.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.07%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.57.

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.