Enterprise Product Partners (EPD) Q1 Earnings & Revenue Beat

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) reported first-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings per limited partner unit of 36 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents.

The bottom line also improved from the year-ago quarterly earnings of 32 cents per limited partner unit. The upside was mainly driven by record liquid pipeline and marine terminal volumes as well as higher NGL and crude oil prices.

Quarterly distribution at Enterprise Products Partners increased 5.1% year over year to 41.5 cents per common unit. Adjusted distributable cash flow of $1.1 billion provided coverage of 1.3x. The partnership retained $238 million in cash flow, gaining the financial flexibility to fund growth capital projects, reduce debt and decrease the need to issue additional equity.

Quarterly revenues increased to $7,320.4 million from $5,005.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The top line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,714 million.

First-Quarter Segmental Performance

Gross operating income in the NGL Pipeline & Services segment rose to $856 million from $784 million in the year-ago quarter.

Natural Gas Pipeline and Services segment recorded gross operating income of $171 million compared with $178 million in the prior-year quarter.

Gross operating income from the Crude Oil Pipelines & Services segment surged 31% year over year to $265 million.

Gross operating income from the Petrochemical & Refined Product Services segment grew 18% to $182 million from the year-earlier level of $155 million.

Financials

During the quarter, the partnership spent $460.1 million. Outstanding total debt principal as of Mar 31, 2017 was $23.6 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had consolidated liquidity of $4.1 billion, which comprised unrestricted cash on hand and available borrowing capacity.

Zacks Rank and Key Stock Picks

Currently, Enterprise Products Partners carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the same space are SunCoke Energy, Inc. (NYSE:SXC) , China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (NYSE:SNP) and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. (TO:BXE) . All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

SunCoke Energy posted a positive earnings surprise of 120.0% in the preceding quarter. The company beat estimates in two of the four trailing quarters with an average negative earnings surprise of 35.78%.

Bellatrix Exploration posted a positive earnings surprise of 240.00% in the preceding quarter. It surpassed estimates in three of the four trailing quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 58.54%.

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