Enerplus (TSE:ERF) Given New C$32.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Enerplus (TSE:ERF) (NYSE:ERF) had its target price raised by Stifel Nicolaus from C$27.25 to C$32.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ERF. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on Enerplus from C$21.00 to C$18.85 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. ATB Capital reduced their price objective on Enerplus from C$27.00 to C$26.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Enerplus from C$24.00 to C$25.50 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Desjardins upped their price target on Enerplus from C$17.50 to C$19.25 and gave the stock a tender rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$24.36.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of ERF opened at C$27.73 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.31. Enerplus has a 52-week low of C$18.23 and a 52-week high of C$28.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$25.40 and a 200 day moving average price of C$22.66. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 2.65.

Enerplus (TSE:ERF) (NYSE:ERF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported C$0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.71 by C$0.03. Enerplus had a return on equity of 39.59% and a net margin of 29.85%. The company had revenue of C$595.12 million during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Enerplus will post 3.001087 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a mar 24 dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s payout ratio is 12.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Enerplus news, Senior Officer Ian Charles Dundas sold 104,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$24.13, for a total value of C$2,521,965.58. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.