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Enterprise Products: Steady Cash Flows Support Long-Term Income

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Key Takeaways

  • EPD runs over 50,000 miles of pipelines and earns stable, fee-based revenue booked long term.
  • EPD has returned billions via buybacks and distributions, raising payouts for 27 straight years.
  • EPD's multibillion-dollar project backlog adds cash flows, supporting future distribution payments.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD - Free Report) is a leading midstream player and therefore has a resilient business model. EPD has a pipeline network that spans more than 50,000 miles, transporting oil, natural gas, refined products and other commodities. The partnership generates stable fee-based revenues from the midstream assets as the assets are booked by shippers for a long term.

Due to the resilience of its business model, the partnership has been able to return capital to unitholders on an ongoing basis. Since its IPO, Enterprise Products has returned billions of dollars to unitholders through both repurchases and distributions. Also, EPD has increased distributions for 27 consecutive years. Thus, the partnership has successfully kept cash flow steady at all business cycles.

Investors should know that Enterprise Products has a backlog of key capital projects valued in billions that are currently under construction. The midstream company has secured additional cash flows, further protecting future distribution payments. Thus, income investors should keep an eye on the stock.

KMI & ENB Also Focus on Returning Shareholders’ Capital

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI - Free Report) and Enbridge Inc. (ENB - Free Report) are two leading midstream companies, backed by stable business models. Both KMI and ENB have predictable cash flows that are supported by fee-based revenues. For the last nine consecutive years, KMI has increased its dividend payments.

ENB has rewarded shareholders with $38 billion over the past five years. In the next five years, ENB has a plan of returning $40 billion to $45 billion in the coming five years.

EPD’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Units of EPD have gained 21.3% over the past year compared with the 13.8% improvement of the composite stocks belonging to the industry.

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From a valuation standpoint, EPD trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 11.58X. This is below the broader industry average of 11.84X.

Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPD’s 2026 earnings estimate has seen upward revisions over the past 30 days.

Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Enterprise Products currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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