Covea Finance Sells 46,380 Shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Covea Finance cut its holdings in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 529,820 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 46,380 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $22,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Enbridge by 1,514.7% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,799,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $194,938,000 after acquiring an additional 4,502,115 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 4,120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,571,669 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,463,335 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Enbridge by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,278,739 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $498,734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668,692 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Enbridge by 12.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 55.2% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,143,265 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $168,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,789 shares during the period. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enbridge Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ENB opened at $44.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.62. Enbridge Inc. has a one year low of $32.85 and a one year high of $44.13. The firm has a market cap of $95.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.93.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Enbridge Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Enbridge in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Securities started coverage on Enbridge in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.00.

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.