Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE reduced its position in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF – Get Rating) (TSE:ERF) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,013 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 854 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Enerplus were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 21,952 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $85,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 28,395 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 419,241 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $5,941,000 after purchasing an additional 12,808 shares in the last quarter. 53.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Enerplus Price Performance

ERF stock opened at $17.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Enerplus Co. has a 52-week low of $10.21 and a 52-week high of $19.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 2.22.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF – Get Rating) (TSE:ERF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.02). Enerplus had a return on equity of 88.11% and a net margin of 34.14%. The business had revenue of $720.53 million for the quarter. Analysts predict that Enerplus Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 30th were issued a $0.055 dividend. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 29th. Enerplus’s payout ratio is 7.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ERF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Enerplus from C$26.00 to C$25.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Barclays initiated coverage on Enerplus in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Enerplus from C$32.00 to C$33.00 in a report on Monday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Enerplus from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 7th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on Enerplus from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.75.

Enerplus Company Profile

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Enerplus Corporation, together with subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and Canada. The company's oil and natural gas properties are located primarily in North Dakota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania; and Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.