Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 77,060,000 shares, a growth of 82.3% from the January 31st total of 42,280,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 18.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Enbridge by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 689 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Wintrust Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Enbridge by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 736 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 436.4% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 751 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enbridge during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Enbridge Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ENB traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $42.97. 2,032,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,338,043. The firm has a market cap of $93.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.94. 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 1 year low of $32.85 and a 1 year high of $45.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.01.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last issued 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. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 10.04%. The business had revenue of $11.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Enbridge will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.24%. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 155.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENB has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Securities assumed coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Enbridge from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.00.

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.