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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ENB shares. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Enbridge to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Enbridge presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ENB. Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new stake in Enbridge in the second quarter worth $1,162,000. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the second quarter worth $46,000. Security National Bank lifted its position in shares of Enbridge by 205.3% during the second quarter. Security National Bank now owns 3,578 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the second quarter worth $246,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Enbridge by 11.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 486,910 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $21,787,000 after purchasing an additional 48,353 shares during the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enbridge Price Performance

ENB traded up $0.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $44.51. 5,151,426 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,957,626. 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 has a 12-month low of $35.34 and a 12-month high of $47.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.29. The company has a market cap of $97.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.79.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. Enbridge had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $7.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Enbridge will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.679 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.10%. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.