Enbridge Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ENB)

Key Points

• Enbridge Inc experienced a significant increase in put options trading, with 20,216 put options acquired, marking a 1,036% rise compared to its average volume.
• Several institutional investors significantly raised their stakes in Enbridge, including a 4,331.0% increase by GAMMA Investing LLC during the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Enbridge; while some have downgraded it to a “sell" or "hold," others like Argus have raised their price target to $54.00 with a "buy" rating.

Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 20,216 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,036% compared to the average volume of 1,779 put options.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ENB. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Enbridge in the fourth quarter worth approximately $261,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Enbridge by 786.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,086 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 4,331.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 31,593 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 30,880 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 1.7% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 20,052 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 123,872.7% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 13,637 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 13,626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ENB shares. Wall Street Zen cut Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Zacks Research cut Enbridge from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Argus upped their price target on Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.50.

Enbridge Stock Down 1.6%

ENB stock opened at $49.63 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $47.87 and its 200 day moving average is $46.00. The stock has a market cap of $108.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.78. Enbridge has a 1-year low of $39.73 and a 1-year high of $50.54.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 10.11%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.6839 dividend. This is an increase from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Enbridge's payout ratio is currently 134.98%.

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.

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