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

Key Points

• Investors purchased a staggering 20,216 put options for Enbridge, marking an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to its average trading volume.
• Institutional investors own 54.60% of Enbridge shares, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes in the company recently.
• Enbridge declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6839, up from its previous $0.68, indicating a dividend yield of 5.7%.

Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 20,216 put options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately1,036% compared to the average volume of 1,779 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 6.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 438,557 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $19,431,000 after buying an additional 25,071 shares in the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp lifted its stake in Enbridge by 31.3% in the 1st quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 36,098 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Enbridge by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,150,521 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $48,806,000 after acquiring an additional 7,890 shares during the period. JBR Co Financial Management Inc purchased a new position in Enbridge during the 1st quarter valued at about $330,000. Finally, Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Enbridge during the 1st quarter valued at about $637,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ENB. Zacks Research raised Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Enbridge from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial raised Enbridge to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Enbridge from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.50.

Enbridge Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE ENB opened at $48.0050 on Thursday. Enbridge has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $48.21. The company has a market cap of $104.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.79. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.80.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 10.11%.The firm had revenue of $7.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

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

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.

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