Brokerages Set Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) PT at $21.69

Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.69.

Several research analysts have issued reports on ERF shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Enerplus in a report on Sunday, April 14th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares lowered their price target on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Enerplus Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE ERF opened at $19.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $18.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus has a 12 month low of $13.46 and a 12 month high of $20.97.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. The company had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,151,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Enerplus by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,475,459 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $130,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,040 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Enerplus by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,255,178 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $34,594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,622,000. 58.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.