Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD is Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s 2nd Largest Position

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lowered its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) by 8.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,080,386 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 277,873 shares during the period. Enterprise Products Partners makes up about 2.9% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Enterprise Products Partners were worth $96,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Enterprise Products Partners has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

Shares of EPD opened at $32.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 52-week low of $27.77 and a 52-week high of $34.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.60. The company has a market capitalization of $69.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.59.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.07). Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.26%.

Enterprise Products Partners declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas producer to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Products Partners

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford acquired 15,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.09 per share, with a total value of $481,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 173,586 shares in the company, valued at $5,570,374.74. This trade represents a 9.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 32.60% of the company’s stock.

About Enterprise Products Partners

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) is a Houston-based master limited partnership that provides midstream energy services across North America. The company owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines, storage facilities, processing plants and export terminals that transport and handle natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined and petrochemical products. Its core activities include gathering and transportation, fractionation of NGLs, natural gas processing, crude oil and condensate pipelines, and marine and terminal services that enable domestic distribution and exports.

Enterprise serves a diverse set of customers including producers, refiners, petrochemical companies, marketers and end users.