Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.74 and last traded at $44.67, with a volume of 213632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Enbridge Trading Down 0.8 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.45. 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 $95.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.93.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 business 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 firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Enbridge Inc. will post 1.97 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. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Enbridge’s payout ratio is 121.76%.

Institutional Trading of Enbridge

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Enbridge by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,585,231 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $267,935,000 after buying an additional 207,200 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Enbridge by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,296,374 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $52,648,000 after acquiring an additional 536,818 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Enbridge by 32.6% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,302,132 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $52,880,000 after acquiring an additional 319,907 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in Enbridge by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 188,244 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,650,000 after purchasing an additional 15,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 66.5% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 33,833 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 13,515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

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.