Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a report released on Monday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ERF. National Bankshares dropped their price objective 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 dropped their price objective on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “tender” rating and set a $18.85 target price (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

NYSE:ERF opened at $20.28 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus has a fifty-two week low of $13.46 and a fifty-two week high of $20.97. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.69.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ERF. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Enerplus during the fourth quarter valued at $1,550,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 9.4% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,078,787 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,366,419 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $130,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 28.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,024,995 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $18,036,000 after acquiring an additional 230,048 shares in the last quarter. 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.