Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 8,585,111 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 122% from the previous session’s volume of 3,862,878 shares.The stock last traded at $48.5450 and had previously closed at $48.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ENB. Zacks Research lowered shares of Enbridge from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. CIBC cut shares of Enbridge from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Enbridge from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Enbridge currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Trading Down 0.6%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.06). Enbridge had a net margin of 10.11% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The company had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Enbridge Inc will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.9425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $3.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. This is a positive change from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Enbridge’s payout ratio is currently 147.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,297,477 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,959,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892,491 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 75,439,320 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,338,405,000 after buying an additional 1,148,580 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Enbridge by 0.3% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 40,021,291 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,019,473,000 after acquiring an additional 137,897 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Enbridge by 137.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 32,907,433 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,458,128,000 after purchasing an additional 19,074,827 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,113,368,000. 54.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.