Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Enbridge (NYSE:ENB)

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 20,216 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,036% compared to the average volume of 1,779 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the second quarter valued at $28,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Enbridge in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Enbridge during the first quarter worth $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 771 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Enbridge by 55.6% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 784 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of ENB traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,287,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,861,091. Enbridge has a fifty-two week low of $32.76 and a fifty-two week high of $43.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.35.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB - Get Free Report) TSE: ENB last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The firm had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This is a boost from Enbridge's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. Enbridge's payout ratio is presently 122.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ENB shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Enbridge in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Enbridge from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Enbridge from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

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.