Howard Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Howard Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,502 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 11,612 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 130,202 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 471,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $682,000. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 87,609 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,716,000 after buying an additional 24,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PYA Waltman Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $764,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ET shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $18.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.52 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.95.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its 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 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.