Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a research report sent to investors on Friday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

ERF has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Securities increased their price target on Enerplus from $19.07 to $20.09 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Enerplus from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $21.87.

Enerplus Stock Performance

ERF stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.20. 3,781,265 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,524,828. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.97. Enerplus has a one year low of $13.46 and a one year high of $20.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. Enerplus had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 24.09%. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Enerplus Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Enerplus’s payout ratio is currently 14.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enerplus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 4th quarter valued at $1,550,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Enerplus by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 30,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,398,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $21,429,000 after buying an additional 74,880 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,092,996 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $19,270,000 after buying an additional 1,078,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Enerplus by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,366,419 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $130,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,478 shares during the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.