HFG Advisors Inc. Purchases 7,740 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

HFG Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,225 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 7,740 shares during the period. HFG Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $16.34. The stock had a trading volume of 8,550,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,865,641. The firm has a market cap of $55.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $12.46 and a 12 month high of $16.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.73 and its 200 day moving average is $15.02.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $21.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The firm’s 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

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.