Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Stock Holdings Decreased by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP trimmed its position in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,970 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 5,780 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Enerplus were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 worth $130,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,478 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in Enerplus during the 3rd quarter worth $88,150,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Enerplus by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,881,849 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,868,000 after buying an additional 718,606 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Enerplus by 1.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,697,831 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $29,933,000 after buying an additional 25,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,398,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $21,429,000 after acquiring an additional 74,880 shares during the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Enerplus Price Performance

Shares of ERF traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.84. 1,484,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,900,537. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 1.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.86. Enerplus Co. has a one year low of $13.46 and a one year high of $20.97.

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

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ERF. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Enerplus from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Enerplus in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price objective (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Enerplus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.69.

Enerplus 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.