Charter Oak Advisors LP Makes New Investment in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Charter Oak Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 667,944 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $13,085,000. Energy Transfer accounts for about 7.5% of Charter Oak Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $244,005,000 after buying an additional 12,353,441 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $469,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,683 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,662,581 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $228,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,603 shares during the period. Finally, Hartree Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $16,083,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.32 on Friday, reaching $17.24. The company had a trading volume of 11,249,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,209,870. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.46. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The firm has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ET. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.09.

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.