Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Holdings in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,274 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 984 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ENB. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Enbridge by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,249 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 2,622,189 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $94,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,217 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 105,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after buying an additional 11,226 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Enbridge by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 7,430 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Enbridge by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 171,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 14,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ENB shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Enbridge in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Enbridge has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.20.

Enbridge Trading Up 0.8 %

ENB traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.12. 1,247,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,745,393. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Enbridge Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.03 and a 1-year high of $40.22. The company has a market cap of $78.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.02.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $8.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 13.97%. Equities analysts forecast that Enbridge Inc. will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.677 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.30%. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is currently 127.14%.

Enbridge 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.