Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,997 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,806 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ENB. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $194,938,000 after acquiring an additional 4,502,115 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $185,655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,463,335 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of Enbridge by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 32,531,675 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,157,802,000 after purchasing an additional 3,693,495 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake 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 worth $498,734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668,692 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,143,265 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $168,258,000 after buying an additional 1,472,789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Stock Up 0.1 %

ENB opened at $42.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.94. 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 fifty day moving average price of $41.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.21. Enbridge Inc. has a one year low of $32.85 and a one year high of $44.13.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $10.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.54 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 13.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Enbridge Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 124.07%.

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.