Northern Trust Corp Acquires 756,762 Shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Free Report) TSE: ENB by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,538,754 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 756,762 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.12% of Enbridge worth $107,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Enbridge during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wintrust Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Enbridge by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 736 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Enbridge by 436.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Enbridge by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 967 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Enbridge during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enbridge Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ENB traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $46.72. 2,548,357 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,160,466. The company has a market capitalization of $101.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $44.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Enbridge Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.60 and a 52-week high of $47.08.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.75 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $11.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Enbridge Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.81%. This is a boost from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 157.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ENB. Raymond James upgraded Enbridge to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. CIBC restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Securities initiated coverage on Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Enbridge from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enbridge has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.00.

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.