StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Enerplus (NYSE:ERF)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a research note released on Sunday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ERF. TD Securities reiterated a tender rating and issued a $18.85 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Price Performance

ERF stock opened at $20.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.36 and its 200-day moving average is $16.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus has a 1 year low of $13.46 and a 1 year high of $20.97.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Enerplus will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. This is an increase from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s payout ratio is currently 12.38%.

Institutional Trading of Enerplus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Enerplus by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,670 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc grew its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 2.6% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 30,835 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Enerplus by 8.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Enerplus by 80.3% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Enerplus by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,177 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.42% of the company’s stock.

Enerplus Company Profile

Enerplus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, explores and develops crude oil and natural gas in the United States. Its oil and natural gas properties are located primarily in North Dakota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.