Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 90.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,544 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 28,356 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ET. CNB Bank raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Core Alternative Capital bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 38.9% during the third quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ET shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Energy Transfer to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.27.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $18.96 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $19.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.16. The company has a market capitalization of $65.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $25.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 110.74%.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.