Wedmont Private Capital Sells 1,476 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Wedmont Private Capital trimmed its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,080 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 94,442 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 23,079 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 31,806 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 12,990 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 9.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 449,772 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $7,295,000 after purchasing an additional 37,927 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ET. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $20.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.12. The company has a market cap of $68.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $20.32.

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

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.