Fractal Investments LLC Sells 195,518 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Fractal Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,486,543 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 195,518 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises approximately 15.6% of Fractal Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Fractal Investments LLC owned 0.17% of Energy Transfer worth $75,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 146,943 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 77,938 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 230.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 736,634 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,335,000 after buying an additional 513,989 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 28,250 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 421,372 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,912,000 after buying an additional 77,352 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,936,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ET. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Mizuho restated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.87. The stock had a trading volume of 8,459,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,422,026. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.64. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $12.18 and a twelve month high of $16.04. The stock's 50 day moving average is $15.30 and its 200 day moving average is $14.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.94%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

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.

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