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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ENB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Enbridge from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Enbridge to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Enbridge from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ENB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Enbridge by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 100,364,993 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,802,766,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067,516 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Enbridge by 0.3% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 40,021,291 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,019,473,000 after buying an additional 137,897 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Enbridge in the fourth quarter valued at $1,195,559,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Enbridge by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,421,826 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,045,172,000 after buying an additional 1,415,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,677,864 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $942,806,000 after acquiring an additional 858,323 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enbridge Trading Down 1.5%

Enbridge stock opened at $53.26 on Thursday. Enbridge has a 1 year low of $39.73 and a 1 year high of $54.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.69 and its 200-day moving average is $48.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $116.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 0.67.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The pipeline company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. Enbridge had a net margin of 11.30% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The business had revenue of $17.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

About Enbridge

Enbridge Inc is a Calgary, Alberta–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy transportation, distribution and generation assets. Its core activities include the operation of crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transmission and distribution systems, and energy storage facilities. In addition to midstream transportation and storage, Enbridge has expanded into renewable power generation and energy transition projects, including wind, solar and utility-scale generation assets.

The company serves customers primarily in Canada and the United States and has interests in other international energy projects.