Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stake in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,929 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 332 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Enbridge were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Enbridge in the second quarter worth $28,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enbridge in the first quarter worth $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 56.7% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 771 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 55.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.60% of the company’s stock.

Enbridge Price Performance

NYSE ENB opened at $42.18 on Friday. Enbridge Inc. has a one year low of $32.76 and a one year high of $43.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.15 and a 200 day moving average of $38.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $91.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.93.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) (TSE:ENB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.15. Enbridge had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The firm had revenue of $10.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Enbridge Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.41%. This is a boost from Enbridge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Enbridge’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ENB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Enbridge from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Enbridge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

Enbridge Company 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.