Carnegie Investment Counsel Invests $246,000 in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,557 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanders Morris Harris LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 87,198 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 435.5% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 68,724 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 55,890 shares in the last quarter. Connective Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,175,000. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 67,618 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ET. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America initiated 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 for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ET traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $20.28. The company had a trading volume of 14,533,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,469,590. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $20.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $19.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.20.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Energy Transfer's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

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

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.