Enbridge Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:ENB)

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on ENB shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.20.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its stake in Enbridge by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 27,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 5,965 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Enbridge by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 8,173 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 782 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc. raised its stake in Enbridge by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 12,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Heronetta Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Heronetta Management L.P. now owns 189,374 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 792,584 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,676,000 after purchasing an additional 3,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Enbridge Stock Performance

ENB stock opened at $35.60 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $35.26 and its 200-day moving average is $34.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $75.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.84. Enbridge has a twelve month low of $31.03 and a twelve month high of $40.30.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $8.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.62 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 10.23%. Equities research analysts forecast that Enbridge will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.677 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This is an increase from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 129.05%.

About Enbridge

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.