Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Purchased by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 317.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,056 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 140,000 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. FMR LLC raised 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 worth $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $469,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,683 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $308,319,000 after acquiring an additional 388,073 shares during the last quarter. Natixis boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 14,619,124 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $286,389,000 after acquiring an additional 962,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $244,005,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353,441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $17.44. 9,802,655 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,212,494. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.32. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.46.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

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.