Castalian Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Castalian Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 225,618 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $4,420,000. Energy Transfer makes up 2.2% of Castalian Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ET. FMR LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $469,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,683 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Natixis increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 14,619,124 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $286,389,000 after buying an additional 962,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $244,005,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353,441 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $16.54. 18,167,267 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,316,461. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.48. The company has a market capitalization of $56.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced 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 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.09.

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.