Traders Buy Large Volume of Enbridge Put Options (NYSE:ENB)

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 20,216 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the average daily volume of 1,779 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 1,514.7% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,799,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $194,938,000 after buying an additional 4,502,115 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Enbridge by 4,120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,571,669 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,463,335 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 32,531,675 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,157,802,000 after purchasing an additional 3,693,495 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 27.8% in the third 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 period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 12.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,163,353 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $737,754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061,758 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Enbridge in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enbridge presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ENB stock opened at $41.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.63. Enbridge has a twelve month low of $32.85 and a twelve month high of $44.13.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The company had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Enbridge will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 124.07%.

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.