Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Shares Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) were up 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.03 and last traded at $33.03. Approximately 980,861 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,400,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Friday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America began coverage on Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered Enterprise Products Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, US Capital Advisors raised shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Products Partners has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.60.

Enterprise Products Partners Trading Up 2.5 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.79 and its 200-day moving average is $30.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $72.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.09.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $13.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.87 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 20.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.42%. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPD. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 2,862.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 7,756,006 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $225,777,000 after buying an additional 7,494,224 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 110.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,531,756 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $73,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326,010 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 2,854.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,287,318 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $37,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,243,741 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,429,298 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $420,037,000 after buying an additional 1,225,988 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the 3rd quarter worth $30,746,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

About Enterprise Products Partners

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, petrochemicals, and refined products. It operates in four segments: NGL Pipelines & Services, Crude Oil Pipelines & Services, Natural Gas Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services.