As of 11:30AM on August 18 Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) continued its steady week long decline. The stock has fallen 4% month over month and 12% in 2017 as slumping oil prices and complications involved with long term projects have created downward pressure. On August 3 Enbridge released its second quarter earnings which were posted at $919 million or $0.56 per share. Enbridge announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share representing a dividend yield of 5%.
On August 16 it was reported that the Ontario government was in the process of rethinking its electricity transmission line which was awarded to Enbridge. This was due to rising costs associated with the project, up to an estimated $777.2 million which was up from the original estimate of $419 million. The government is reviewing its necessity in light of constraints placed on the government after it decided to foot the bill for a plan to reduce hydro costs for Ontario consumers.
As of this writing Enbridge is priced at $49.26 – down 0.71% on the last trading day of the week. The company still has many projects in the pipeline, including the Line 3 Pipe Replacement Program, the T-South natural gas pipeline expansion in British Columbia, as well as the T-North natural gas network. With oil prices taking a breather and Enbridge hurting from this news investors may want to take a look. The dividend is still attractive and analysts expect oil prices to show strength in the fall.
