Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $33.13, but opened at $32.04. Enterprise Products Partners shares last traded at $33.28, with a volume of 1,143,268 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on EPD. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Enterprise Products Partners from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Enterprise Products Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.44.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $71.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.55 and its 200 day moving average is $30.57.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 20.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,307 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,364 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 73,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,103 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 14,710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. 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.