Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.69.

ERF has been the topic of a number of research reports. National Bankshares cut their price objective on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report 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 report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Enerplus in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Enerplus stock opened at $20.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.24 and its 200-day moving average is $16.60. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Enerplus has a 12 month low of $13.46 and a 12 month high of $20.97.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Enerplus will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enerplus

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ERF. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new stake in Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $88,150,000. Palo Duro Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,125,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 1,039.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,124,770 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $32,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938,370 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,622,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 74.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,986,433 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $37,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.