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

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 11,844 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,128 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,139 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 9,922 shares during the period. Boyd Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $1,119,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.64.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ET stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.48. 12,752,096 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,467,720. The stock's 50 day moving average is $17.30 and its 200-day moving average is $18.61. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The company has a market cap of $59.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.3275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.49%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 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.