Enterprise Products Partners Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:EPD)

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 176,828 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,179% compared to the average daily volume of 13,821 call options.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Products Partners

In related news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.09 per share, with a total value of $481,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 173,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,570,374.74. The trade was a 9.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 32.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Anchyra Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 122,458 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,926,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 297,073 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,524,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $858,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of EPD stock opened at $34.07 on Friday. Enterprise Products Partners has a fifty-two week low of $27.77 and a fifty-two week high of $34.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.74.

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

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.26%.

Enterprise Products Partners announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas producer to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Monday, December 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Enterprise Products Partners from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Monday, January 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Products Partners presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.77.

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.