Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 13,988 Shares of Enbridge Inc $ENB

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,263,686 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 13,988 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $57,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Enbridge during the first quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Enbridge by 112.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Enbridge during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Enbridge in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enbridge Stock Up 0.5%

ENB opened at $47.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.17 and a 200-day moving average of $46.91. The company has a market capitalization of $103.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.76. Enbridge Inc has a fifty-two week low of $39.73 and a fifty-two week high of $50.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.06). Enbridge had a net margin of 10.11% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Enbridge Inc will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.9425 per share. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Enbridge’s payout ratio is 147.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ENB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Argus increased their price target on Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Enbridge from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enbridge presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.00.

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.