Sage Investment Counsel LLC Takes Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 137,075 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,685,000. Energy Transfer comprises 3.5% of Sage Investment Counsel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,567,000 after acquiring an additional 45,172 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,297,000. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,586,598 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $148,621,000 after purchasing an additional 293,088 shares during the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 164.1% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,566 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 37,633 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 30.9% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 242,042 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.5 %

ET stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $19.39. 2,747,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,632,428. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $14.87 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.04. The firm has a market cap of $66.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.71%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 101.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ET. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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 upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.55.

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.