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

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 20,216 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the average volume of 1,779 put options.

Enbridge Stock Performance

NYSE ENB opened at $40.45 on Friday. Enbridge has a twelve month low of $31.03 and a twelve month high of $40.81. The stock has a market cap of $86.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.13. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.669 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.62%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 134.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Enbridge by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 11,833 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Enbridge by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,063 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Enbridge by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 103,686 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 35,473 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 3,856 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Enbridge by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 10,657 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Enbridge Company Profile

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.