Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 7.0% in the first quarter, selling 319,372 shares and ending with 4,270,820 shares worth about $161.6 million.
• Enterprise Products Partners reported Q1 earnings of $0.68 per share, missing estimates, though revenue of $14.39 billion came in above expectations. Analysts still expect full-year EPS of 3.01.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.56 per share, or $2.24 annualized, for a yield of about 5.9%. The stock also has a mixed analyst outlook, with an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.13.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,270,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 319,372 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Enterprise Products Partners worth $161,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPD. Walker Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 1.5% during the first quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 19,974 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 3.8% in the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 8,106 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,266 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 32,348 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 5,880 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

Shares of Enterprise Products Partners stock opened at $37.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 52 week low of $30.01 and a 52 week high of $40.17. The firm's 50 day moving average is $37.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.49.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.68 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 3.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on EPD. Wells Fargo & Company raised Enterprise Products Partners from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Enterprise Products Partners from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. 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 research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Products Partners has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.13.

Enterprise Products Partners 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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