Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded Enbridge to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Securities initiated coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Enbridge from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Enbridge Trading Up 0.2 %

ENB traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.71. 3,311,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,204,991. Enbridge has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $46.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $43.62 and its 200 day moving average is $43.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.80.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $11.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 10.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.679 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 157.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enbridge

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Enbridge by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,617,146 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,888,507,000 after buying an additional 3,611,421 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Enbridge by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 74,290,740 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,151,500,000 after buying an additional 1,495,742 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Enbridge by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,752,759 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,643,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,799 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 36,336,212 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,541,745,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,684 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Enbridge during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $909,415,000. 54.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.