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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a research report released on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. CIBC lowered their price objective on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Securities restated a tender rating and issued a $18.85 target price (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. National Bankshares reduced their target price on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Enerplus from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and raised their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Enerplus currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Down 3.9 %

Enerplus stock opened at $19.59 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus has a 1-year low of $13.46 and a 1-year high of $20.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.83.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million during the quarter. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. Equities research analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business 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. 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 2.66%. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ERF. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 356.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 311.9% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,667 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.42% of the company’s stock.

About Enerplus

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.