Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity boosted attention on Enterprise Products Partners, with investors buying 21,164 call options on Tuesday — about 63% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• CEO Aj Teague bought 2,665 shares at $37.55 each, a roughly $100,071 purchase that increased his stake by 3.56% and was disclosed in an SEC filing.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS expectations at $0.68 versus $0.71 expected, while revenue came in above estimates at $14.39 billion. Enterprise also paid a $0.55 quarterly dividend, implying a 6.1% yield.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 21,164 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 63% compared to the average daily volume of 12,974 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Products Partners

In other Enterprise Products Partners news, CEO Aj Teague acquired 2,665 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.55 per share, for a total transaction of $100,070.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 77,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,912,978.80. This trade represents a 3.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 32.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Products Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 42,639,131 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,367,011,000 after purchasing an additional 260,305 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 3,106.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 32,060,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $102,784,000 after buying an additional 31,060,000 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,116,333 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $612,870,000 after buying an additional 883,983 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 18,163,343 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $582,317,000 after buying an additional 1,940,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 14,705,122 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $459,829,000 after buying an additional 80,884 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE EPD traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, hitting $36.20. 2,851,908 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,447,149. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $30.01 and a fifty-two week high of $40.17. The company has a market cap of $78.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.72.

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). The company had revenue of $14.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.62 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 11.45%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Enterprise Products Partners's payout ratio is currently 81.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPD has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (up from $34.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.67.

About Enterprise Products Partners

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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