Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

ERF has been the subject of several other research reports. National Bankshares cut their price objective on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. CIBC cut their price objective on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Enerplus from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Down 3.9 %

Enerplus stock opened at $19.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.83. Enerplus has a 12 month low of $13.46 and a 12 month high of $20.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The business 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 predict that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is an increase from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Enerplus’s payout ratio is 12.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Enerplus during the fourth quarter valued at $1,550,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 9.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 30,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,398,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $21,429,000 after acquiring an additional 74,880 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% in the third 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, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% in the third 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. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.