Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Stock Holdings Cut by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP cut its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,688,251 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 2,374,912 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises 9.7% of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP owned about 0.72% of Energy Transfer worth $313,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 146,943 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,028,000 after buying an additional 77,938 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 230.9% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 736,634 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,335,000 after acquiring an additional 513,989 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Energy Transfer by 3.3% in the fourth 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 raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.9% during the third quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 5,682,061 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $79,719,000 after buying an additional 647,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ET. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.14.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

ET stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $16.23. 20,695,464 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,321,025. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.63. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $12.21 and a 12 month high of $16.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $21.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.81%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.51%.

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.