Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a research report released on Monday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

ERF has been the subject of a number of other reports. National Bankshares decreased their target price on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. CIBC decreased their target price on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a tender rating and issued a $18.85 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Trading Up 0.3 %

ERF opened at $20.33 on Monday. Enerplus has a one year low of $13.46 and a one year high of $20.97. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.72.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Enerplus will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is an increase from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Enerplus’s payout ratio is 12.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Enerplus by 479.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 103,914 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,043,000 after purchasing an additional 85,996 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 24.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 350,702 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $6,895,000 after acquiring an additional 68,797 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus in the first quarter worth $1,151,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus in the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,475,459 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $130,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,040 shares during the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.