StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Enerplus (NYSE:ERF)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a research report sent to investors on Monday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ERF. CIBC reduced their price target on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Securities reissued a tender rating and set a $18.85 price target (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares reduced their price target on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Price Performance

Enerplus stock opened at $20.15 on Monday. Enerplus has a 12 month low of $13.46 and a 12 month high of $20.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.61 and its 200-day moving average is $16.69. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.99.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. The company had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Enerplus will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enerplus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ERF. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at $88,150,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 1,164,478 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 94.8% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,097,412 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,078,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,182,271 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $64,156,000 after acquiring an additional 940,419 shares in the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.