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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 3.2% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,585,231 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $267,935,000 after purchasing an additional 207,200 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in Enbridge by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 188,244 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,650,000 after buying an additional 15,207 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Enbridge by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 33,833 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 13,515 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Enbridge by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,161,024 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $984,205,000 after buying an additional 936,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Enbridge by 816.2% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 21,714 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 19,344 shares in the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Enbridge stock opened at $42.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Enbridge has a 12 month low of $32.85 and a 12 month high of $43.70. The company has a market cap of $93.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.57 and its 200-day moving average is $38.82.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 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 firm had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.30%. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is 121.76%.

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.