Welch & Forbes LLC Acquires New Stake in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes LLC opened a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the first quarter, buying 29,295 shares worth about $1.1 million.
• Enterprise Products Partners reported Q1 earnings of $0.68 per share, missing estimates, while revenue of $14.39 billion came in above expectations despite being down 6.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.56 per share, implying an annualized payout of $2.24 and a 6.0% yield; analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $40.13 price target.

Welch & Forbes LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,295 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:EPD opened at $37.27 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $37.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.33. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 52 week low of $30.01 and a 52 week high of $40.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $80.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.49.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Enterprise Products Partners's revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is a boost from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Enterprise Products Partners's payout ratio is 82.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 target price (up from $39.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Enterprise Products Partners has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.13.

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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