Howland Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)

Howland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,250 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Enterprise Products Partners were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 14.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,331,648 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $474,367,000 after buying an additional 2,155,640 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 2.6% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,884,123 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $133,678,000 after purchasing an additional 125,450 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,686,444 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $123,488,000 after purchasing an additional 109,712 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,353,572 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $88,367,000 after purchasing an additional 16,641 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 2.2% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 3,220,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $93,983,000 after purchasing an additional 69,396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

Shares of EPD traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.28. 158,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,357,977. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 1-year low of $25.61 and a 1-year high of $29.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.06.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The company had revenue of $14.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Enterprise Products Partners’s payout ratio is currently 80.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EPD. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays raised 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 report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $32.77.

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.