Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to Hold

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

According to Zacks, “Enterprise’s $6.6 billion pipeline of fee-oriented expansion projects positions it to enjoy an above-average growth pace in DCF over the next two years. In the fourth-quarter 2018, adjusted DCF surged 19% year over year to $1.5 billion. Moreover, gross operating margin from the processing plants in the Permian Basin increased $24 million year over year in fourth-quarter 2018, with significant contribution from the Orla plant. Enterprise’s gas processing capacity in the Permian Basin is expected to rise to a whopping 1.5 Bcf/d with a boost from the Orla plant in 2019. However, turnaround-related costs from Seminole fractionators hurt Enterprise Products’ fractionation business. Also, rising operating costs and expenses are a concern for the partnership. Therefore, the stock warrants a cautious stance.”

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Several other research firms also recently issued reports on EPD. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Tuesday, February 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America set a $32.00 price objective on Enterprise Products Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 29th. ValuEngine downgraded Enterprise Products Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Co reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Enterprise Products Partners from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

NYSE EPD traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.32. 1,239,594 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,925,088. The firm has a market cap of $61.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.96. Enterprise Products Partners has a one year low of $23.10 and a one year high of $30.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 18.34% and a net margin of 11.42%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Enterprise Products Partners will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, CEO Aj Teague purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.36 per share, with a total value of $243,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,654,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,300,501.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders bought 30,000 shares of company stock worth $733,300. 37.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners during the 4th quarter worth $329,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 646,570 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,899,000 after buying an additional 2,459 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 4,733,025 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $116,385,000 after buying an additional 825,089 shares during the period. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,165,871 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,669,000 after buying an additional 258,886 shares during the period. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners during the 4th quarter worth $237,000. 36.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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. The company operates through four segments: NGL Pipelines & Services, Crude Oil Pipelines & Services, Natural Gas Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services.

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