Enterprise Products Partners Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:EPD)

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 42,811 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 187% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,904 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Enterprise Products Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EPD. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

NYSE EPD opened at $32.49 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.46. Enterprise Products Partners has a 52-week low of $27.77 and a 52-week high of $34.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.67.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last released its earnings results 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). Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.26%.

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

Enterprise Products Partners Company Profile

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.