Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Downgraded by Royal Bank of Canada to “Sector Perform”

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) was downgraded by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $22.00 price objective on the oil and natural gas company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $21.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.26% from the company’s previous close.

ERF has been the topic of a number of other reports. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Securities reiterated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price objective (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of ERF opened at $20.51 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.79. Enerplus has a 12-month low of $13.46 and a 12-month high of $20.97.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Enerplus by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its stake in Enerplus by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 44,409 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Enerplus by 479.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 103,914 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,043,000 after purchasing an additional 85,996 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Enerplus by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 350,702 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $6,895,000 after purchasing an additional 68,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Enerplus in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.42% of the company’s stock.

About Enerplus

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.