Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 177,126 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,063,085 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 177,126 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $22,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,953,355 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $38,266,000 after buying an additional 119,319 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $429,000. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,816,567 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $35,587,000 after buying an additional 10,751 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 88,639 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,736,000 after buying an additional 4,815 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ET traded down $0.55 on Friday, reaching $19.40. The company had a trading volume of 15,630,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,812,701. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.52 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. 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 6.70%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ET. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.18.

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.