Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.69.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Enerplus in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. CIBC dropped their target price on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares dropped their target price on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Enerplus from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 target price (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Enerplus Price Performance

Shares of ERF stock opened at $19.79 on Tuesday. Enerplus has a fifty-two week low of $13.46 and a fifty-two week high of $20.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.97. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.88.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enerplus

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ERF. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 44,409 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 30,835 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 29,243 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.42% of the company’s stock.

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.