Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) Short Interest Up 6.1% in March

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,530,000 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the March 15th total of 17,470,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Products Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avity Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $1,587,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 1,249.9% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 36,352 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 33,659 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 87,675 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,515 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Overbrook Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $1,155,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

Enterprise Products Partners stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,737,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,919,754. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Enterprise Products Partners has a 52 week low of $25.19 and a 52 week high of $29.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.22 and a 200-day moving average of $27.24. The firm has a market cap of $61.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.02.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company had revenue of $14.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Enterprise Products Partners will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.515 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 81.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EPD shares. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.58.

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.