Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.38.

ERF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Enerplus from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Enerplus in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial raised their target price on Enerplus from $23.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Enerplus from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Enerplus from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 16th.

Enerplus Price Performance

Shares of ERF opened at $16.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 2.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Enerplus has a twelve month low of $12.84 and a twelve month high of $18.97.

Enerplus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 29th. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Enerplus by 9.1% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 404,841 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after purchasing an additional 33,665 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Enerplus by 12.7% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 25,602 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP increased its holdings in Enerplus by 573.3% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 71,522 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 60,899 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Enerplus by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 215,801 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,815,000 after buying an additional 17,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.60% of the company’s stock.

About Enerplus

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