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 traders bought 20,216 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the typical volume of 1,779 put options.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the second quarter valued at $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Enbridge by 74.9% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 689 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Enbridge by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 771 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 55.6% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Enbridge during the third quarter valued at $35,000. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ENB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Enbridge in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Enbridge currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Enbridge stock opened at $44.05 on Thursday. Enbridge has a 1 year low of $32.85 and a 1 year high of $44.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.37 and a 200 day moving average of $40.15. The firm has a market cap of $95.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.54 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 13.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.07%.

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.