Intact Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,398,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,880 shares during the quarter. Enerplus makes up 0.9% of Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Intact Investment Management Inc. owned 0.69% of Enerplus worth $21,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ERF. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,616 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Enerplus by 1,314.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 257,590 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $4,541,000 after buying an additional 239,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Enerplus by 4.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 56,389 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares during the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ERF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Enerplus in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. TD Securities reiterated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of ERF stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,526,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,161,475. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.97 and its 200-day moving average is $16.79. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus Co. has a 1-year low of $13.46 and a 1-year high of $20.97.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. On average, research analysts forecast that Enerplus Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is 12.38%.

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.