Argyle Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,778 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 12,241 shares during the period. Enbridge makes up approximately 1.3% of Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $3,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ENB. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Enbridge by 98.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,644,850 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,578,000 after buying an additional 815,850 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Enbridge by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 8,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Enbridge by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 229,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,272,000 after acquiring an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Enbridge by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 8,834 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Enbridge by 5.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,491,857 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,704,715,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400,848 shares during the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Enbridge Stock Performance

NYSE:ENB traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.82. 4,385,230 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,269,155. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.19 and a 200 day moving average of $34.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.83 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 $40.30.

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

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.677 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.14%.

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.