Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.69.

ERF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares reduced their target price on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Enerplus in a report on Saturday, April 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, TD Securities restated a “tender” rating and set a $18.85 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Enerplus Price Performance

NYSE ERF opened at $20.66 on Friday. Enerplus has a 12 month low of $13.46 and a 12 month high of $20.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.55.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last posted 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 net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. The business had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Enerplus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 80.3% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. 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.