Verition Fund Management LLC Invests $173,000 in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF – Get Rating) (TSE:ERF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,185 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Enerplus by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,296,902 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $105,372,000 after buying an additional 169,917 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Enerplus by 74.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,986,433 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $37,906,000 after buying an additional 1,271,801 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Research Inc. purchased a new stake in Enerplus during the second quarter worth $38,716,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Enerplus by 80.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,749,761 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $36,359,000 after buying an additional 1,223,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Enerplus by 66.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,582,146 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $20,929,000 after buying an additional 633,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.01% of the company’s stock.

Enerplus Stock Performance

NYSE:ERF opened at $15.50 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 2.19. Enerplus Co. has a twelve month low of $11.00 and a twelve month high of $19.23.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th will be paid a $0.111 dividend. This is an increase from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 3rd. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Enerplus in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$26.00 to C$25.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.75.

Enerplus Profile

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Enerplus Corp. engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. It conducts operations in Willston Basin, Marcellus Shale, and Canadian Waterfloods. The firm holds interests in North Dakota, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.