Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 80,034 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 218,192 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 80,034 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for approximately 0.3% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $308,319,000 after buying an additional 388,073 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 13,139,924 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $210,896,000 after acquiring an additional 352,625 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,973 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ET shares. 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 note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.18.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ET opened at $20.14 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.86. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.52 and a 52-week high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 5.74%. Analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.56%.

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.