Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.25.

Several brokerages have weighed in on EPD. Barclays dropped their price objective on Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Argus upgraded Enterprise Products Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho set a $38.00 price objective on Enterprise Products Partners and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of EPD traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,731,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,833,580. Enterprise Products Partners has a 12 month low of $27.77 and a 12 month high of $34.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $68.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.66.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 10.71%. The firm had revenue of $11.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Enterprise Products Partners's revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Enterprise Products Partners's payout ratio is 81.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford acquired 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.35 per share, with a total value of $470,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 158,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,671.10. The trade was a 10.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William C. Montgomery acquired 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.55 per share, with a total value of $504,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 136,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,826. The trade was a 13.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 32.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 112,573 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,491,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 952,471 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $29,536,000 after acquiring an additional 3,145 shares during the last quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC now owns 22,900 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 119.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,414,035 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $74,859,000 after buying an additional 1,313,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 142,666 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,424,000 after buying an additional 12,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

About Enterprise Products Partners

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.