Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,783 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,565 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. United Community Bank bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE ET traded up $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $18.94. 6,737,944 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,492,563. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $14.90 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.23. The stock has a market cap of $64.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72.

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Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.55.

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.