Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a target price averaging $35.83.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.545 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 6.9%.
• Despite reporting lower earnings than expected, the company's market cap stands at $68.58 billion, with a PE ratio of 11.78.

Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.8333.

Several research firms recently weighed in on EPD. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $38.00 target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Enterprise Products Partners news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.35 per share, for a total transaction of $470,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 158,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,671.10. This trade represents a 10.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William C. Montgomery bought 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.55 per share, with a total value of $504,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 136,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,319,826. This trade represents a 13.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 32.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,014 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 1.0% during the second quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 32,311 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Next Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 2.3% in the second quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 14,625 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 3.5% in the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 9,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 23,556 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:EPD traded up $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $31.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,542,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,399,491. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.69. Enterprise Products Partners has a 12 month low of $27.77 and a 12 month high of $34.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $31.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.67.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $11.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.24 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.04%.

Enterprise Products Partners Company Profile

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, petrochemicals, and refined products. It operates in four segments: NGL Pipelines & Services, Crude Oil Pipelines & Services, Natural Gas Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services.