Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Enbridge (NYSE:ENB)

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 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 Investors Weigh In On Enbridge

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 32,531,675 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,157,802,000 after purchasing an additional 3,693,495 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 4.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,161,024 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $984,205,000 after buying an additional 936,863 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 3.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 23,083,951 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $821,331,000 after buying an additional 827,540 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 3.6% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,703,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $665,655,000 after buying an additional 644,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,061,758 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of Enbridge stock opened at $42.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.24. Enbridge has a one year low of $32.85 and a one year high of $44.13. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $10.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 9.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Enbridge will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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