Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Enbridge from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Enbridge from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Argus boosted their target price on Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Enbridge from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st.

Enbridge Stock Performance

ENB stock opened at $49.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.80. Enbridge has a 1-year low of $39.73 and a 1-year high of $50.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $108.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.6839 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 134.98%.

Institutional Trading of 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 increased its holdings in Enbridge by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 438,557 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $19,431,000 after purchasing an additional 25,071 shares in the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp increased its holdings in Enbridge by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 36,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,890 shares in the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc bought a new stake in Enbridge during the 1st quarter worth approximately $330,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Enbridge by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,299,977 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $190,532,000 after purchasing an additional 35,515 shares in the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.