Sound Income Strategies LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET – Get Rating) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,276 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $98,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 37.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ET. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $16.43.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $11.99 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $9.15 and a one year high of $13.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $37.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 1.75.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 5.17%. The company had revenue of $20.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.305 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 6th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.18%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.77%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,339,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.99 per share, with a total value of $17,398,780.02. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 56,917,875 shares in the company, valued at $739,363,196.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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Energy Transfer LP provides natural gas pipeline transportation and transmission services. It operates through the following segments: Intrastate Transportation and Storage, Interstate Transportation and Storage, Midstream, NGL and Refined Products Transportation and Services, Crude Oil Transportation and Services, Investment in Sunoco LP, Investment in USAC, and All Other.