Enbridge Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ENB)

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 20,216 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the average daily volume of 1,779 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Enbridge by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,161,024 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $984,205,000 after acquiring an additional 936,863 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Enbridge by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,703,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $665,655,000 after acquiring an additional 644,526 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Enbridge by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,163,353 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $737,754,000 after buying an additional 2,061,758 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,142,638 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $655,556,000 after buying an additional 176,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Enbridge by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,278,739 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $498,734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668,692 shares during the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ENB has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities began coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Enbridge in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 target price (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of ENB stock opened at $44.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Enbridge has a 52 week low of $32.85 and a 52 week high of $45.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.76. The company has a market cap of $97.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.93.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. Enbridge had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.76%.

About Enbridge

Enbridge Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States.