Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a report released on Monday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

ERF has been the topic of several other research reports. National Bankshares cut their price objective on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. CIBC reduced their price target on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enerplus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Enerplus stock opened at $19.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.99. 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 has a 12-month low of $13.46 and a 12-month high of $20.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.66.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. As a group, analysts expect that Enerplus will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ERF. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new position in Enerplus during the fourth quarter worth $1,550,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 9.4% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,078,787 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,164,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Enerplus by 28.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,024,995 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $18,036,000 after purchasing an additional 230,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.42% of the company’s stock.

Enerplus Company Profile

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.