Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Shares Up 1.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Enterprise Products Partners shares rose 1.6% in mid-day trading, reaching as high as $38.12 before last trading around $37.94. Trading volume was lighter than usual at 2.17 million shares, down 52% from the average session volume.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed but generally constructive: Jefferies and TD Cowen raised price targets, Stifel also increased its target and kept a buy rating, and the overall consensus remains Hold with an average price target of $39.67.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.68, below estimates, but revenue came in above expectations at $14.39 billion. Enterprise also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, implying an annualized yield of 5.8%.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.12 and last traded at $37.9410. 2,168,724 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 4,509,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EPD. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up from $34.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.67.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $38.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.49.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.03). Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 11.45%.The firm had revenue of $14.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Enterprise Products Partners's revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Enterprise Products Partners news, CEO Aj Teague bought 2,665 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $37.55 per share, with a total value of $100,070.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 77,576 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,978.80. The trade was a 3.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 32.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Products Partners

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPD. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 3,106.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 32,060,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $102,784,000 after acquiring an additional 31,060,000 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the third quarter worth about $292,194,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 18,163,343 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $582,317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940,583 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 119.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,414,035 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $74,859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,976 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,928,068 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $93,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Company Profile

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. NYSE: EPD is a Houston-based master limited partnership that provides midstream energy services across North America. The company owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines, storage facilities, processing plants and export terminals that transport and handle natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined and petrochemical products. Its core activities include gathering and transportation, fractionation of NGLs, natural gas processing, crude oil and condensate pipelines, and marine and terminal services that enable domestic distribution and exports.

Enterprise serves a diverse set of customers including producers, refiners, petrochemical companies, marketers and end users.

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