Enbridge Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ENB)

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group cut Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.50.

Enbridge Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Enbridge stock opened at $41.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. Enbridge has a fifty-two week low of $31.31 and a fifty-two week high of $41.85. The company has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.13. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.669 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enbridge

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Enbridge by 56.7% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 771 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enbridge during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Enbridge in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 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.