Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Enbridge (NYSE:ENB)

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 20,216 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the average daily volume of 1,779 put options.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of Enbridge stock opened at $41.95 on Friday. Enbridge has a one year low of $32.85 and a one year high of $45.78. The company has a market cap of $91.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.84.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.23. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 10.04%. The firm had revenue of $11.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.39%. Enbridge’s payout ratio is 155.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Enbridge during the fourth quarter worth approximately $909,415,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Enbridge by 396.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,047,004 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $510,816,000 after acquiring an additional 9,621,425 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. increased its stake in Enbridge by 650.7% during 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 last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Enbridge by 1,514.7% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,799,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $194,938,000 after acquiring an additional 4,502,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Enbridge by 4,120.0% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,571,669 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,463,335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ENB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Enbridge from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities started coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

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.