Capital One Financial Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) – Research analysts at Capital One Financial lowered their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Enerplus in a report released on Friday, April 19th. Capital One Financial analyst B. Velie now anticipates that the oil and natural gas company will post earnings of $0.35 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.37. The consensus estimate for Enerplus’ current full-year earnings is $2.06 per share.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The company 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%.

ERF has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Securities restated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price objective (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of ERF opened at $20.28 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.61 and its 200-day moving average is $16.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enerplus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ERF. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter worth about $88,150,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Enerplus by 18.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,366,419 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $130,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,478 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Enerplus by 94.8% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,097,412 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,078,787 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 29.0% in 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 buying an additional 940,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.