Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Enbridge (NYSE:ENB)

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Enbridge from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Cibc World Mkts downgraded Enbridge from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Enbridge from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. CIBC downgraded Enbridge from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of ENB stock opened at $45.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.51 and a 200 day moving average of $47.26. Enbridge has a 1 year low of $39.73 and a 1 year high of $50.54.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.06). Enbridge had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.97 dividend. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.80%.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 33,645 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 38,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 7,823 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS lifted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 30,815 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 52,414 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,507,000 after buying an additional 1,988 shares during the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Enbridge

Enbridge Inc is a Calgary, Alberta–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy transportation, distribution and generation assets. Its core activities include the operation of crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transmission and distribution systems, and energy storage facilities. In addition to midstream transportation and storage, Enbridge has expanded into renewable power generation and energy transition projects, including wind, solar and utility-scale generation assets.

The company serves customers primarily in Canada and the United States and has interests in other international energy projects.