Stifel Nicolaus Increases Enerplus (TSE:ERF) Price Target to C$32.00

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

ERF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Desjardins upped their price target on Enerplus from C$17.50 to C$19.25 and gave the company a tender rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. ATB Capital lowered their price target on Enerplus from C$27.00 to C$26.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Enerplus from C$24.00 to C$25.50 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price target on Enerplus from C$21.00 to C$18.85 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$24.36.

Enerplus Stock Up 0.5 %

ERF stock opened at C$28.06 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$25.77 and its 200 day moving average price is C$22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.31, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.80. Enerplus has a fifty-two week low of C$18.23 and a fifty-two week high of C$28.84. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 2.65.

Enerplus (TSE:ERF) (NYSE:ERF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported C$0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.71 by C$0.03. Enerplus had a net margin of 29.85% and a return on equity of 39.59%. The firm had revenue of C$595.12 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Enerplus will post 3.001087 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a mar 24 dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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