Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Acquired by Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC

Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,011,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 26,000 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises about 20.5% of Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Energy Transfer worth $37,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ET. United Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 130,202 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 135,647 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 67,299 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ET shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.64.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE ET traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $17.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,096,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,464,704. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $17.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $60.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.48%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.24%.

Energy Transfer 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.