Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a growth of 8.3% from the March 31st total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new position in Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $88,150,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Enerplus by 18.8% during 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $34,594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,412 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Enerplus by 7,592.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,092,996 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $19,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Enerplus by 29.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 940,419 shares during the period. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enerplus Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ERF opened at $19.34 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.84. Enerplus has a one year low of $13.46 and a one year high of $20.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last issued its earnings results 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. Enerplus had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders 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 represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ERF shares. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Enerplus from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday. 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. TD Securities reissued a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price objective (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Enerplus in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, National Bankshares cut their price target on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.69.

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.