Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 2,022,812 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the previous session’s volume of 4,008,280 shares.The stock last traded at $39.0610 and had previously closed at $39.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $39.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Enterprise Products Partners from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Enterprise Products Partners from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Enterprise Products Partners Trading Down 0.2%

The stock has a market cap of $84.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.09. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.79% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The firm had revenue of $18.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 60.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 77.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EPD. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the third quarter worth about $31,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Bravera Wealth raised its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 666.7% during the second quarter. Bravera Wealth now owns 1,035 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Markowski Investments bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.