Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Enbridge has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 12 analysts, with six buys, five holds and one strong buy; the average 12-month price target is $67.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.46 in EPS versus a $0.43 estimate and $9.70 billion in revenue versus $8.67 billion expected. Enbridge also maintains an annualized dividend of $3.88 per share, representing an approximately 8% yield.
• Enbridge agreed to acquire Tallgrass’ crude transportation business for about $2.55 billion, but plans to help fund the deal through a roughly C$2.6 billion equity offering, creating near-term dilution despite expected cash-flow benefits.

Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.00.

ENB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Enbridge from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price target on shares of Enbridge in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Enbridge from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Enbridge Trading Down 3.8%

ENB opened at $48.24 on Friday. Enbridge has a 12 month low of $45.03 and a 12 month high of $58.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.91.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.67 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 7.20%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Enbridge will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.97 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Enbridge's payout ratio is presently 147.06%.

Trending Headlines about Enbridge

Here are the key news stories impacting Enbridge this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Enbridge agreed to acquire Tallgrass’ crude transportation business for approximately US$2.55 billion. The assets include a 75% interest in the Pony Express pipeline, as well as storage and terminal infrastructure connecting Rocky Mountain production with Cushing, Oklahoma. Enbridge expects the deal to be accretive to distributable cash flow per share in the first full year, strengthening its U.S. liquids pipeline platform. Enbridge to Acquire Tallgrass' Crude Transportation Business
• Positive Sentiment: National Bank Financial upgraded Enbridge from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding analyst support after the recent pullback. Enbridge Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell 47% between August 15 and August 31, leaving about 1.7% of shares sold short. The reduction suggests bearish positioning has eased and may provide technical support.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to highlight Enbridge’s scale, diversified infrastructure portfolio and long dividend record, including 31 consecutive years of dividend increases. Enbridge Dividend Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Enbridge is also pursuing gas infrastructure growth, including a reported $33 million Enbridge Gas Ohio pipeline project, while broader midstream mergers are being driven by LNG, NGL and crude export demand. Enbridge Gas Ohio Pipeline Project
• Negative Sentiment: To help fund the Tallgrass acquisition and other opportunities, Enbridge launched a bought-deal offering of approximately C$2.6 billion, issuing 38.9 million shares at C$66.85. The added share count creates near-term dilution and overshadowed the acquisition’s expected cash-flow benefits. Enbridge Equity Offering and Tallgrass Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer again urged Enbridge to shut down Line 5 and said the state is reconsidering related permits, maintaining regulatory and operational risk around the pipeline. Whitmer Line 5 Comments

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,850,502,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Enbridge in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,195,559,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Enbridge in the second quarter valued at approximately $467,782,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Enbridge by 4,683.0% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 8,566,831 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $40,975,000 after purchasing an additional 8,387,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Enbridge during the second quarter worth approximately $412,627,000. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Enbridge

Enbridge Inc is a Canadian energy infrastructure company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in 1949 as Interprovincial Pipe Line, the company has grown into one of North America's largest energy delivery businesses, operating primarily in Canada and the United States.

Enbridge's operations include crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transmission and storage, and natural gas distribution and utility services. Its pipeline systems transport energy products from producing regions to refineries, export facilities, utilities and other customers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.