Oil pipeline operator Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (EEP) on Thursday caught some tepid commentary from analysts at Barclays Capital.

The firm maintained its “Equalweight” rating and $33 price target on EEP, which suggests a 9% upside to the stock’s Tuesday closing price of $30.14.

A Barclays analyst commented, “EEP’s preannouncement does provide clarity, but distribution coverage will likely fall below 0.9x in 2012. While we view EEP’s $3B portfolio of largely fee-based crude oil and NGL pipeline projects as favorable long term, tempering our near-term view are large financing needs, lag in cash flows from projects, and low coverage in 2012.”

Accordingly, the analyst lowered its 2012 earnings estimate from $1.25 to $1.01 per share, and 2012 estimate from $1.66 to $1.52 per share.

Continuing, “We are decreasing our 2012 EBITDA estimate from $1.23 to $1.14B and expect the Street to lower estimates with consensus currently at $1.24B…We are modestly decreasing our 2012/13-year distribution CAGR estimates from 2.3%/2.9% to 1.8%/2.7%.”

Enbridge Energy Partners shares were mostly flat in morning trading Thursday.

The Bottom Line
Enbridge Energy Partners currently offers a 7.07% dividend yield, based on Tuesday’s closing price of $30.14 per share and the company’s annualized dividend payout of $2.13 per share.

Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (EEP) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.