Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 4,513 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 160,529 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,513 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 173.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,783 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 7,468 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 47,192 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 12,787 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 27,419 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 13,342 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ET. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on 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 boosted their price objective on 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 objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.18.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $19.98 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.52 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 5.74%. On average, analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Energy Transfer Company 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.