Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 8,585,111 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 122% from the previous session’s volume of 3,862,878 shares.The stock last traded at $48.5450 and had previously closed at $48.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ENB. Cibc World Mkts lowered Enbridge from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Enbridge from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Enbridge from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Trading Down 0.6%

The firm has a market cap of $105.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.81.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.45 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 10.11%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that Enbridge Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.9425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.8%. Enbridge’s payout ratio is currently 147.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Enbridge in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC increased its stake in Enbridge by 329.6% during 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 holdings in Enbridge by 112.4% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Enbridge by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 54.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.