Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.68 Per Share

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.679 per share by the pipeline company on Sunday, June 1st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a 1.3% increase from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Enbridge has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.9% annually over the last three years. Enbridge has a payout ratio of 115.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Enbridge to earn $2.18 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $2.61 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 119.7%.

Enbridge Price Performance

NYSE ENB traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $46.16. The company had a trading volume of 3,573,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,144,875. The company has a market capitalization of $100.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.80. The company's fifty day moving average price is $43.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Enbridge has a 12-month low of $34.60 and a 12-month high of $46.47.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $11.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 10.04%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ENB shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Enbridge from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Securities began coverage on shares of Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enbridge

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Enbridge stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Free Report) TSE: ENB in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,151 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $261,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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