Analysts at three firms lifted price targets on EPD in the past week. The borrow market has simultaneously loosened to multi-month lows. Yet options traders are loading up on puts — and that tension is the story.
EPD reported Q1 earnings on April 28. The stock gained 1.5% on the day. Since then, the targets have moved.
Citigroup raised its target to $44 from $39, maintaining Buy. Stifel went to $42 from $41, also Buy. Truist lifted its Hold target to $40 from $36. The consensus mean now sits at $40.70 against a current price of $38.67 — implying roughly 5% upside to the average.
Factor scores back the constructive tone. EPD's forward EPS growth rank sits at the 89th percentile year-on-year. Its dividend score ranks in the 88th percentile. For an MLP yielding in the mid-5% range, those are supportive fundamentals.
Short interest has fallen sharply. Positions dropped 10% over the past week to just 0.78% of free float — the lowest since late March and a level too small to drive meaningful squeeze dynamics.
The borrow market reflects that retreat. Cost to borrow collapsed 55% in one week, from 0.44% to 0.20% APR. Availability has widened dramatically — with utilization now at 12.9% versus a 52-week high of 67.5%, there is ample supply in the lending pool for anyone who still wants to short. This is a loose borrow market by any measure.
The ORTEX short score has also eased, dropping to 37.4 from 40.6 at the end of April — a modest but consistent move away from short pressure.
Against that backdrop, the put/call ratio stands out. EPD's PCR sits at 0.281 — 2.1 standard deviations above its 20-day mean of 0.241. It has held above that mean consistently since late April, even as shorts covered and analysts raised targets.
The PCR is not at an extreme in absolute terms — the 52-week high is 0.40. But the persistence of elevated put demand, while the lending market softens and buy-side targets climb, creates a notable divergence. Options traders appear to be hedging something that fundamental analysts are not currently pricing in.
Possible explanations: sector-level macro hedges via EPD's liquid options, income investors protecting distribution yield positions, or concerns around the broader energy complex given commodity price volatility.
Data snapshot (as of May 4–5, 2026)
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