A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Enterprise Products Partners (EPD Quick QuoteEPD - Free Report) . Shares have added about 0.7% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Enterprise Products due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Enterprise’s Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates

Enterprise reported fourth-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings per limited partner unit of 65 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents. The bottom line improved from the year-ago quarter’s 52 cents per share.

Total quarterly revenues of $13,650 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,276 million. However, the top line increased from $11,370 million in the prior-year quarter.

Strong quarterly earnings were driven by higher contributions from the NGL, and Natural Gas Pipelines & Services businesses.

Segmental Performance

Pipeline volumes in NGL, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals were 6.9 million barrels per day (bpd), higher than the year-ago quarter’s 6.5 million bpd. Natural gas pipeline volumes were 17.6 trillion British thermal units per day (TBtus/d), up from 14.6 TBtus/d a year ago. Also, marine terminal volumes increased to 1.7 million bpd from 1.5 million bpd.

Gross operating income at NGL Pipelines & Services increased from $1,109 million in the year-ago quarter to $1,294 million primarily due to higher NGL pipeline transportation volumes.

Natural Gas Pipelines and Services’ gross operating income increased to $315 million from $195 million in the year-ago quarter. The upside was due to an increase in natural gas pipeline transportation volumes.

Crude Oil Pipelines & Services recorded a gross operating income of $418 million, which decreased from $438 million in the prior-year quarter.

Gross operating income at Petrochemical & Refined Products Services amounted to $339 million compared with $338 million a year ago primarily due to higher average sales margins from refined products marketing activities and rising transportation revenues.

Cash Flow

Adjusted distributable cash flow was $2,028 million, up from $1,659 million a year ago. The same provided coverage of 1.9X. The partnership retained $956 million of distributable cash flow in the December-end quarter. It generated an adjusted free cash flow of $1,407 million compared with $1,403 million in the year-ago quarter.

Financials

For fourth-quarter 2022, Enterprise’s total capital investment was $763 million.

As of Dec 31, 2022, its outstanding total debt principal was $28.6 billion. Enterprise’s consolidated liquidity amounted to $4.1 billion. The total liquidity amount included unrestricted cash on hand and available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facility.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, estimates revision have trended downward during the past month.

VGM Scores

At this time, Enterprise Products has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. However, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision has been net zero. Notably, Enterprise Products has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.