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

Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 20,216 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,036% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,779 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Enbridge from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. CIBC downgraded shares of Enbridge from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday, November 10th. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Enbridge from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enbridge has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of Enbridge by 329.6% in the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Enbridge by 112.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Enbridge during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Enbridge by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. purchased a new position in Enbridge during the third quarter worth $28,000. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enbridge Price Performance

ENB stock opened at $47.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.53 and a 200-day moving average of $47.17. The company has a market cap of $103.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Enbridge has a 12-month low of $39.73 and a 12-month high of $50.54.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.45 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 10.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Enbridge will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.97 per share. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.2%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.80%.

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.