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

Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.2727.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Enterprise Products Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $34.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Monday, December 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Products Partners

In related news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 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, with a total value of $481,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 173,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,570,374.74. This trade represents a 9.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 32.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Products Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE EPD opened at $32.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company 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. Enterprise Products Partners has a 52 week low of $27.77 and a 52 week high of $34.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.60.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 82.26%.

Enterprise Products Partners declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas producer to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.