Merewether Investment Management LP Sells 4,673,581 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Merewether Investment Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 70.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,918,212 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 4,673,581 shares during the period. Energy Transfer comprises approximately 1.4% of Merewether Investment Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Merewether Investment Management LP’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $30,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,769,000 after acquiring an additional 4,141,715 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE:ET opened at $19.26 on Wednesday. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $13.11 and a twelve month high of $20.02. The company has a market cap of $65.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.35.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

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.