Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 15,097 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 549,971 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,097 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $8,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $322,097,000. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 14.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after purchasing an additional 9,341,798 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $350,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,976,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,447.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,756,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $518,460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.2 %

ET opened at $16.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $12.46 and a 52 week high of $16.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $21.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.317 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.51%.

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.