Midstream services provider Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD ) recently posted a 21% jump in its second-quarter earnings helped by a staggering growth in revenue. With total natural gas consumption in the U.S. expected to increase 14% by 2035, it appears Enterprise is doing its best to capitalize on this expected boost in demand.
Let's take a closer look at whether Enterprise is a good buy today.
Numbers matter
In recent times, Enterprise has upped its efforts to bring more and more natural gas to the market. Two years ago, it acquired Teppco Partners, making it one of the leading pipeline companies in the United States. Not content with this, it has also been expanding its operations in the Eagle Ford shale play. It has entered into deals with companies such as Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC ) and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK ) to provide midstream services in south Texas.
These deals, coupled with the growing demand for natural gas, have seen Enterprise's revenue shoot up. In the last 12 months, revenue was $39.05 billion, up from $31.27 billion -- an increase 25%. Meanwhile, during this period, it has also managed to turn losses to profits. It has recorded a profit of $1.05 billion in the last 12 months, compared with a loss of $83.8 million in the year-ago period.
Value and yield
Let's take a look at how the company is valued when compared to its industry peers.
|
Company
|
Trailing P/E
|
Forward P/E
|
TEV/EBITDA
|
| Enterprise |
23.81 |
22.08 |
14.12 |
| El Paso (NYSE: EP ) |
26.75 |
18.69 |
11.43 |
| Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB ) |
NM |
28.07 |
6.25 |
| Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN ) |
18.83 |
11.05 |
4.92 |
| DCP Midstream (NYSE: DPM ) |
139.52 |
30.68 |
18.56 |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. NM = not meaningful.
Looking at the P/E of the company, we see that Enterprise is fairly valued when compared to its peers. The total enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ratio -- enterprise multiple, for short -- is another way of looking at how expensive a stock is. It looks at a firm from an acquirer's point of view by factoring in debt and cash flows. A very low figure indicates the firm may be undervalued whereas a very high figure tells us it may be overvalued.
When we consider the growth potential in the natural gas space and Enterprise's growth prospects, I think the stock looks like a good buy. To add to this, the company pays a dividend of $2.42, for a yield of 5.8%.
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