Enbridge Inc $ENB Shares Acquired by Synovus Financial Corp

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Enbridge Inc by 2.1%, acquiring an additional 5,733 shares during the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 278,469 shares valued at $12.34 million.
• Enbridge has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.6839 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.7%, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The current consensus rating for Enbridge stock is a "Moderate Buy," with an average price target of $60.50, reflecting positive analyst sentiment despite recent earnings misses.

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB - Free Report) TSE: ENB by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 278,469 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,733 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Enbridge were worth $12,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ENB. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 137.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 32,907,433 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,458,128,000 after buying an additional 19,074,827 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. grew its position in Enbridge by 650.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 5,718,089 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $242,619,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956,379 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Enbridge during the first quarter worth $208,490,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Enbridge by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 36,336,212 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,541,745,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd acquired a new position in Enbridge in the first quarter valued at about $77,976,000. 54.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ENB. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Enbridge from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.50.

Enbridge Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE ENB traded up $0.22 on Thursday, hitting $47.83. 2,752,663 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,004,781. Enbridge Inc has a fifty-two week low of $39.30 and a fifty-two week high of $48.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $104.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $10.56 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 10.11%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Enbridge Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.6839 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. This is an increase from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 134.98%.

Enbridge 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.