Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) Short Interest Down 5.8% in December

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 21,540,000 shares, a decline of 5.8% from the December 15th total of 22,860,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EPD traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.60. 3,853,513 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,982,659. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.23. Enterprise Products Partners has a 52-week low of $26.12 and a 52-week high of $34.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $13.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 20.31%. Enterprise Products Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.37%. This is a boost from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.65%.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Products Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EPD. Veracity Capital LLC increased its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 40,231 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,654 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 200,941 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,766,000 after purchasing an additional 14,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the fourth quarter worth $212,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Enterprise Products Partners from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Enterprise Products Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.60.

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.