Blackstone Inc. Grows Stock Position in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Blackstone Inc. increased its position in shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Free Report) TSE: ENB by 650.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,718,089 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 4,956,379 shares during the quarter. Enbridge comprises about 1.1% of Blackstone Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Blackstone Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Enbridge worth $242,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Enbridge by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 206,921 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,782,000 after buying an additional 7,986 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 1,417,584 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $60,152,000 after acquiring an additional 58,176 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 70.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,296,374 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $52,648,000 after purchasing an additional 536,818 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,617,146 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,888,507,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 631,820 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,808,000 after buying an additional 49,800 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ENB. Raymond James raised Enbridge to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Securities assumed coverage on Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. CIBC restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Enbridge from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Enbridge in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Enbridge Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ENB traded up $0.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,548,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,159,422. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $44.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.24. The company has a market capitalization of $101.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Enbridge Inc. has a one year low of $34.60 and a one year high of $47.08.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $11.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 10.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Enbridge Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.679 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.81%. Enbridge's payout ratio is presently 157.56%.

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.