Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Holdings Lessened by Blackstone Inc.

Blackstone Inc. cut its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 59.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,721,736 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 77,286,910 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises about 4.8% of Blackstone Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Blackstone Inc. owned about 1.57% of Energy Transfer worth $1,052,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 34,320 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Private Client Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 16,915 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 130,202 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 135,647 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160,678 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ET. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE ET traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $16.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,256,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,501,066. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $57.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.49. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.76%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 102.34%.

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.