First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Increases Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,872 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,857 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ET. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 34,713 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 36,381 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in Energy Transfer by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 8,355 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 13,507 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 2.8 %

ET opened at $20.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.39. The company has a market capitalization of $69.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.70. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $13.79 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.38%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Company 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.