Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Enbridge “Moderate Buy”: Eight analysts recommend buying the stock, five rate it a hold and one gives it a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $65.88.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Institutional investors hold 54.6% of Enbridge, with several major funds—including Deutsche Bank and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan—recently initiating sizable positions.
• Enbridge reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results and offers a high dividend: The company posted $0.46 in EPS versus the $0.43 estimate and $9.70 billion in revenue versus $8.67 billion expected. Its quarterly dividend of C$0.97 equates to an annualized yield of about 8.4%.

Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.88.

Several research firms have weighed in on ENB. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Enbridge from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Enbridge to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ENB. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,850,502,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $467,782,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,387,721 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Enbridge in the second quarter valued at approximately $412,627,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Enbridge during the second quarter valued at approximately $380,896,000. Institutional investors own 54.60% of the company's stock.

Enbridge Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Enbridge stock opened at $46.05 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.18. Enbridge has a fifty-two week low of $45.03 and a fifty-two week high of $58.45. The firm has a market cap of $102.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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

Enbridge Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of C$0.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.4%. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio is 147.06%.

About Enbridge

Enbridge Inc NYSE: ENB is a Canadian energy infrastructure company that transports and distributes oil, natural gas and renewable energy across North America. Its operations include crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transmission and storage, natural gas distribution and utility services, and renewable power generation. The company serves customers and communities in Canada and the United States.

Enbridge's liquids pipeline network transports crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons to refineries, export terminals and market hubs.

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