Sapient Capital LLC Invests $265,000 in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,219 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,651 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,909 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ET. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE:ET opened at $16.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.43. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $12.18 and a 1 year high of $16.20.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company 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. Energy Transfer’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.56 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.317 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 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.