Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Stock Price Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) shot up 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.16 and last traded at $34.07. 6,373,286 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 51% from the average session volume of 4,217,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial cut Enterprise Products Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Enterprise Products Partners from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.77.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Up 1.8%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last announced 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). Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. This is a boost from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.26%.

Enterprise Products Partners announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas producer to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Products Partners

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford acquired 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was bought 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 represents a 9.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 32.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,145 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC now owns 19,678 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 32,311 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Next Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 14,625 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.