Raymond James & Associates Acquires 24,315 Shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 281,905 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,315 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Enerplus were worth $4,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ERF. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in Enerplus in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus during the third quarter worth $36,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Enerplus by 80.3% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Enerplus during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Enerplus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ERF shares. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. CIBC decreased their price target on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Enerplus in a research note on Saturday, April 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ERF opened at $20.66 on Friday. Enerplus Co. has a 52-week low of $13.46 and a 52-week high of $20.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.55.

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

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. 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. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.38%.

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.