Bank of Nova Scotia Lowers Holdings in Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Enbridge Inc by 35.0%, selling 3,851,073 shares and now holds approximately 0.8% of the company's total investment portfolio.
• Enbridge recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6839, slightly increasing from the previous $0.68, which gives an annualized yield of 5.9%.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Enbridge, with an average target price set at $67.00 following various upgrades from multiple firms.

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB - Free Report) TSE: ENB by 35.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,144,740 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 3,851,073 shares during the period. Enbridge comprises approximately 0.8% of Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.33% of Enbridge worth $316,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 116,807 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 62,569 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,095 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Enbridge in the 1st quarter valued at $237,000. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 193,143 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,558,000 after purchasing an additional 12,123 shares during the period. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC raised its stake in Enbridge by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 16,964 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $752,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Enbridge from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Enbridge to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.00.

Enbridge Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE ENB traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.18. 4,569,736 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,006,612. The business's fifty day moving average is $45.39 and its 200 day moving average is $44.55. Enbridge Inc has a fifty-two week low of $36.50 and a fifty-two week high of $47.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. Enbridge had a net margin of 10.11% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The company had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Enbridge Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.6839 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Enbridge's payout ratio is currently 140.21%.

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.