Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Enbridge from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Securities initiated coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Enbridge from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Enbridge by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,161,024 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $984,205,000 after purchasing an additional 936,863 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Enbridge by 3.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 23,083,951 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $821,331,000 after buying an additional 827,540 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Enbridge by 3.6% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 18,703,423 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $665,655,000 after buying an additional 644,526 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Enbridge by 12.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 18,163,353 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $737,754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,061,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Enbridge by 1.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,142,638 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $655,556,000 after acquiring an additional 176,733 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.60% of the company's stock.

Enbridge Price Performance

ENB traded up $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,861,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,213,851. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.93. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $42.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.42. Enbridge has a twelve month low of $32.85 and a twelve month high of $44.74.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.15. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The company had revenue of $10.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Enbridge will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.07%.

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.