ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 22,853 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 230,024 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 22,853 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.64.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.6%

ET stock traded up $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $17.87. 9,046,333 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,489,507. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.58. The company has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45. 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 (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. 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 7.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. 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.