Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 192,154 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,461,055 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 192,154 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up approximately 0.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.08% of Energy Transfer worth $33,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 146,943 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 77,938 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 230.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 736,634 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,335,000 after acquiring an additional 513,989 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 28,250 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fractal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 5,682,061 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $79,719,000 after acquiring an additional 647,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ET traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $16.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,115,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,194,641. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $54.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 1.63. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $12.18 and a 1-year high of $16.20.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.87%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 115.60%.

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.