Viking Fund Management LLC Trims Holdings in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Viking Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 190,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $4,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Enbridge during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 689 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Enbridge by 56.7% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 771 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Enbridge by 55.6% in the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Enbridge during the third quarter valued at $35,000. 54.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ENB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $59.00) on shares of Enbridge in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Enbridge in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Securities assumed coverage on Enbridge in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enbridge currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

Enbridge Price Performance

NYSE ENB opened at $45.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.73. Enbridge Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.85 and a 52 week high of $45.78. The stock has a market cap of $98.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $10.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Enbridge had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 13.54%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Enbridge Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.76%.

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.