Traders Buy High Volume of Enterprise Products Partners Call Options (NYSE:EPD)

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 26,765 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 78% compared to the average volume of 15,068 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Enterprise Products Partners from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EPD. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 364.4% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC increased its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 904 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,010 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPD opened at $33.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Enterprise Products Partners has a 1-year low of $27.37 and a 1-year high of $34.63.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.32%. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.55%.

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.