Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 171,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 14,038 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $6,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Enbridge by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,623 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,519 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 6,564 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,057 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 21,685 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Enbridge in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Enbridge in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.20.

Enbridge Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Enbridge stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.34. The company had a trading volume of 4,208,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,166,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $35.32 and a 200 day moving average of $34.95. Enbridge Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.03 and a 52-week high of $40.30.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 13.97%. On average, equities analysts predict that Enbridge Inc. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.677 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.45%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is 129.05%.

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.