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

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 20,216 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,779 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENB has been the subject of several recent research reports. CIBC reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Enbridge from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities started coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Raymond James raised Enbridge to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Enbridge in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Enbridge currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of Enbridge stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,024,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,178,854. Enbridge has a one year low of $34.60 and a one year high of $47.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $102.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.80. The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.16.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.23. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 10.04%. The company had revenue of $11.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.679 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio is 157.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its position in Enbridge by 6.4% during the first quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 52,728 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 3,167 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the 1st quarter worth approximately $358,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. increased its position in shares of Enbridge by 72.5% during the first quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 229,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 96,255 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 62.1% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,621 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Enbridge by 48.0% in the first quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.60% of the company's stock.

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.