Enbridge Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ENB)

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 20,216 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,779 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Enbridge by 1,514.7% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,799,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $194,938,000 after buying an additional 4,502,115 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Enbridge by 4,120.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,571,669 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,463,335 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 12.8% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 32,531,675 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,157,802,000 after acquiring an additional 3,693,495 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Enbridge by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,278,739 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $498,734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Enbridge by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,163,353 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $737,754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061,758 shares during the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enbridge Stock Up 0.2 %

Enbridge stock opened at $41.87 on Thursday. Enbridge has a fifty-two week low of $32.85 and a fifty-two week high of $44.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.