Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.2727.

EPD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.09 per share, for a total transaction of $481,350.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 173,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,570,374.74. The trade was a 9.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 32.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EPD. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,930 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Clear Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $3,467,000. BOS Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the fourth quarter worth $1,315,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 32,805 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

Enterprise Products Partners stock opened at $32.07 on Friday. Enterprise Products Partners has a 52 week low of $27.77 and a 52 week high of $34.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.60. The stock has a market cap of $69.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.83 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business’s revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas producer to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.26%.

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.