Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) Lowered to Neutral Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ENB. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a report on Monday, November 10th. Scotiabank raised shares of Enbridge from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Enbridge from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Enbridge from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Enbridge Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ENB opened at $48.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $104.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.80. Enbridge has a 52 week low of $39.73 and a 52 week high of $50.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.39 and its 200-day moving average is $47.52.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.45 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 10.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.1%. This is an increase from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is 147.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Enbridge in the 2nd quarter worth $1,113,368,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Enbridge by 118.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,526,380 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $480,518,000 after acquiring an additional 5,157,030 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Enbridge by 38.7% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,213,321 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $599,556,000 after acquiring an additional 3,687,334 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Enbridge by 3.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,404,986 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,371,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Enbridge by 20.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,785,430 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $818,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,992 shares during the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Enbridge Company Profile

Enbridge Inc is a Calgary, Alberta–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy transportation, distribution and generation assets. Its core activities include the operation of crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transmission and distribution systems, and energy storage facilities. In addition to midstream transportation and storage, Enbridge has expanded into renewable power generation and energy transition projects, including wind, solar and utility-scale generation assets.

The company serves customers primarily in Canada and the United States and has interests in other international energy projects.