Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Enbridge (NYSE:ENB)

Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 20,216 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,036% compared to the typical volume of 1,779 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Enbridge from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Enbridge from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Enbridge from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Seven investment 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, Enbridge presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Enbridge by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,676,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,176,000 after acquiring an additional 221,976 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Enbridge by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 804,261 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,583,000 after acquiring an additional 106,784 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Enbridge by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 339,147 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $17,113,000 after acquiring an additional 24,165 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Enbridge by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,121,715 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $53,652,000 after acquiring an additional 41,601 shares during the period. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Enbridge by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 236,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,288,000 after acquiring an additional 61,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Enbridge Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Enbridge stock opened at $56.18 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.37. Enbridge has a 12-month low of $43.59 and a 12-month high of $56.22. The company has a market capitalization of $122.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.49 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 9.83% and a return on equity of 11.21%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.52%.

Enbridge Company Profile

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.