Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Trading 1% Higher on Strong Earnings

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)’s share price shot up 1% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $33.40 and last traded at $33.33. 1,057,347 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 4,801,718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.99.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 20.31%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Enterprise Products Partners’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.535 dividend. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Enterprise Products Partners’s payout ratio is 80.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. US Capital Advisors raised Enterprise Products Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Enterprise Products Partners from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 110,648 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 26,032 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,628,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $420,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,988 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 61.7% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 135,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 51,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 5.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,072,866 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $118,561,000 after buying an additional 200,625 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.55 and a 200-day moving average of $30.59. The firm has a market cap of $72.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.09.

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.