Wesbanco Bank Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 189.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 69,179 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 610,927 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,968,000 after purchasing an additional 68,760 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 81,019 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 23,575 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160,678 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,148,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 8,386 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ET opened at $21.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $72.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.28. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $13.79 and a 12-month high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.