Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 268,912 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 830.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,291 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 268,912 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ET. Fortis Capital Management LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 31,956 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 33,575 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 102,176 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,640,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rockwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128,122 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ET shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.38.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 2.1 %

ET stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $18.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,262,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,713,907. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $13.11 and a 52 week high of $20.02. The stock has a market cap of $64.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $17.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.44.

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

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer's dividend 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.