Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 7,284,256 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 84% from the previous session’s volume of 3,958,051 shares.The stock last traded at $45.24 and had previously closed at $45.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ENB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Enbridge in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. TD Securities assumed coverage on shares of Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $98.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.60.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Enbridge in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $909,415,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Enbridge by 396.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,047,004 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $510,816,000 after buying an additional 9,621,425 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Enbridge by 1,514.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Enbridge by 4,120.0% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,571,669 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,655,000 after acquiring an additional 4,463,335 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the fourth quarter valued at $180,941,000. 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.