Chiron Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Chiron Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,777 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 151,862 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises about 1.9% of Chiron Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Chiron Investment Management LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $5,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ET. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 126,331 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 5,127 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,597 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 9,065 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 174,368 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,799,000 after buying an additional 22,155 shares during the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $20.38.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE ET traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $19.25. 6,566,556 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,674,856. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $13.11 and a fifty-two week high of $20.02. 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 firm has a market cap of $65.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.47.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. Energy Transfer's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer's 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.