Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Shares Down 1.2% – Should You Sell?

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)’s stock price fell 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $36.58 and last traded at $36.75. 5,684,707 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 5,259,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.00.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Down 1.2%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.60.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 19.43% and a net margin of 11.05%.The business had revenue of $13.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.71%.

Enterprise Products Partners announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas producer to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.09 per share, for a total transaction of $481,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 173,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,570,374.74. This trade represents a 9.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 32.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Enterprise Products Partners

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.