Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.69.

A number of research firms have issued reports on ERF. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Enerplus in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Enerplus from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares decreased their price target on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Enerplus Price Performance

ERF stock opened at $19.79 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. Enerplus has a 1 year low of $13.46 and a 1 year high of $20.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day moving average of $16.88. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.97.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. This is an increase from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is 12.38%.

Institutional Trading of Enerplus

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Enerplus by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,475,459 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $130,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,040 shares during the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $88,150,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 29.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 940,419 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $34,594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 61.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,881,849 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,868,000 after acquiring an additional 718,606 shares during the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is 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.