Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Lowered to Sector Perform at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $22.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $21.00.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Enerplus in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a hold rating for the company. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Securities reaffirmed a tender rating and set a $18.85 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of Enerplus stock opened at $20.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus has a 52 week low of $13.46 and a 52 week high of $20.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts anticipate that Enerplus will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Enerplus’s payout ratio is presently 12.38%.

Institutional Trading of Enerplus

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ERF. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enerplus in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enerplus in the third quarter valued at $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 356.5% in the third 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 period. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Enerplus in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 311.9% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,667 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.