Merewether Investment Management LP Buys 700,000 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Merewether Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,618,212 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 700,000 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer makes up about 2.1% of Merewether Investment Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Merewether Investment Management LP owned approximately 0.08% of Energy Transfer worth $51,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 742,147 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $14,539,000 after acquiring an additional 23,324 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 225,829 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,424,000 after purchasing an additional 9,471 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 7,790 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $17.98. 11,057,350 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,538,308. The company has a market cap of $61.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $21.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.52.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.29%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 99.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.09.

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.