Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA Sells 116,513 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA cut its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,750,952 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 116,513 shares during the period. Energy Transfer comprises about 7.3% of Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA owned approximately 0.08% of Energy Transfer worth $53,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. FMR LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $67,020,000 after buying an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $185,594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $21,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ET. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET traded down $0.14 on Friday, reaching $19.92. The stock had a trading volume of 14,309,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,421,891. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $13.80 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.71 and a 200 day moving average of $17.61.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.85%.

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.