Can Enterprise Products Sustain Payout Growth After the Latest Hike?

Enterprise Products Partners EPD recently announced that its board of directors has approved an increase in quarterly cash distributions for the second quarter. The new cash distribution of 54.5 cents per unit suggests an improvement of 1.9% from the prior distribution of 53.5 cents. EPD will pay the increased distribution on Aug. 14 to common unitholders on record as of July 31's market close.

Notably, the partnership has increased its cash distributions for more than two decades consecutively, reflecting a stable and predictable business model. Being a midstream energy giant, Enterprise Products has a vast pipeline network, spanning more than 50,000 miles, transporting crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, petrochemicals and refined products. For the assets being booked by shippers for long-term and generating stable cash flows, the partnership will likely continue to generate cash distributions.  

Moreover. Enterprise Products is spending $7.6 billion on growth midstream projects, comprising building new pipelines, gas processing plants and export facilities that are currently under construction. Once the projects come online, they will generate incremental cash flows, further solidifying the partnership's future cash distributions.

Are KMI & WMB Also Rewarding Investors Handsomely?

Kinder Morgan KMI and Williams WMB are also leading midstream energy players and are less vulnerable to oil and gas price volatility. Despite their stable business models, both KMI and WMB currently reward investors with lower dividend yields than the industry’s composite stocks.

Kinder Morgan’s current dividend yield is 4.21%, lower than the industry’s 5.36% yield. Williams’ current dividend yield is 3.46%.

EPD’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Units of EPD have surged 17.3% over the past year, outpacing the 13.8% improvement of the composite stocks belonging to the industry.

From a valuation standpoint, EPD trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 10.27X. This is below the broader industry average of 11.53X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPD’s 2025 earnings has been revised downward over the past seven days.

EPD stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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