Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Shares Down 1.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $31.61 and last traded at $31.7340. 3,485,855 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 4,545,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on EPD. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Products Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.37. The firm has a market cap of $68.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.67.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.83 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 19.81%. Enterprise Products Partners’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Enterprise Products Partners’s payout ratio is currently 82.26%.

Enterprise Products Partners announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas producer to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 32,620 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,425 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 7.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 314,768 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,746,000 after purchasing an additional 20,801 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 8.4% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 13.6% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 728,100 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $24,857,000 after buying an additional 87,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 6.2% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 414,611 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,155,000 after buying an additional 24,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.