Mechanics Bank Trust Department Reduces Position in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lowered its holdings in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,839 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,089 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $2,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Enbridge in the second quarter valued at $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Enbridge by 74.9% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 689 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Enbridge by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 771 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Enbridge by 55.6% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Enbridge in the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. TD Securities began coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a “buy” 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of ENB opened at $44.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.93. Enbridge Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.85 and a 52-week high of $44.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Enbridge Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.02%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 124.07%.

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.