Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Holdings in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,344,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,201 shares during the quarter. Enterprise Products Partners comprises about 0.9% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.06% of Enterprise Products Partners worth $42,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Enterprise Products Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners during the third quarter worth $45,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research cut Enterprise Products Partners from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Enterprise Products Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.09 per share, with a total value of $481,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 173,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,570,374.74. This trade represents a 9.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 32.60% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

NYSE EPD opened at $32.88 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 12-month low of $27.77 and a 12-month high of $34.53.

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

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a boost from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.02%.

Enterprise Products Partners announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas producer to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Enterprise Products Partners Company Profile

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.