Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus raised shares of Enterprise Products Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Enterprise Products Partners from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Products Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.89.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Up 1.5 %

EPD stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $31.10. 3,555,303 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,376,268. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $31.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.00. Enterprise Products Partners has a 1-year low of $27.37 and a 1-year high of $34.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $67.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.67.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $15.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.14 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 20.48%. Enterprise Products Partners's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.15%.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Products Partners

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 364.4% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 836 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC boosted its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 904 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.