Enbridge Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ENB)

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Enbridge by 28.4% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,112 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 7,091 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Enbridge by 15.1% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Enbridge by 1.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,980 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 15,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of ENB opened at $44.05 on Friday. Enbridge has a 1 year low of $32.85 and a 1 year high of $44.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.17. The company has a market capitalization of $95.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.93. 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 results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 13.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is currently 124.07%.

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.