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Enbridge's (ENB) Line 3 Wins Another Favorable Court Ruling

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Enbridge Inc. (ENB - Free Report) recently received a positive court ruling for the Line 3 oil pipeline project that is inching toward completion. The Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to a water permit for the project.

The project has witnessed massive opposition from environmental and indigenous groups so far. The latest decision from the court supports the state water quality and wetland permit for the Line 3 project construction. According to the court, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s certificate for the project had substantial evidence and was not affected by legal errors.

The latest ruling follows last week’s decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court to reject pipeline opposition’s petition for overturning a Minnesota appeals court’s June verdict. The ruling gives a boost to the Line 3 crude-oil pipeline replacement and expansion project, which has already finished more than 90% of the 340-mile line across the state.

The pipeline is currently running at half of its full capacity of 760,000 barrels per day. The replacement project will allow the pipeline to restore full flow from the Canadian oil hub in Edmonton, AB, to refiners in the U.S. Midwest. The company expects the corroding pipeline’s replacement to improve safety, while boosting its earnings.

It is also expected to support safe and reliable operations of Enbridge's Mainline System in future. Earlier, it was anticipated to come online in the fourth quarter, with approximately $200 million of incremental EBITDA contribution in 2021. The Canadian part of the pipeline is already completed.

Price Performance

Enbridge’s shares have rallied 23.5% in the year-to-date period compared with 20.4% growth of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Investment Research
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Enbridge currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the energy space include Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) , MPLX LP (MPLX - Free Report) and Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG - Free Report) , each having a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Kinder Morgan’s bottom line for 2021 is expected to increase 47.7% year over year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPLX’s earnings for 2021 is pegged at $2.73 per share, indicating a massive improvement from the year-ago loss of 80 cents.

The consensus estimate for Cheniere’s earnings for 2021 is pegged at $2.80 per share, signaling a major improvement from the year-ago loss of 34 cents.

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