Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

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

ERF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Enerplus from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday. 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 note on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Securities reiterated a tender rating and set a $18.85 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ERF traded up $0.09 on Tuesday, reaching $19.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,077,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,917,629. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 1.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.88. Enerplus has a twelve month low of $13.46 and a twelve month high of $20.97.

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

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is 12.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ERF. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new position in Enerplus in the third quarter valued at approximately $88,150,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,366,419 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $130,050,000 after buying an additional 1,164,478 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Enerplus by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,255,178 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $34,594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,412 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,092,996 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $19,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078,787 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Enerplus by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,182,271 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $64,156,000 after acquiring an additional 940,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.