Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Receives $24.75 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF – Get Rating) (TSE:ERF) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.75.

ERF has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities raised their price target on Enerplus from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Enerplus from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 7th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Enerplus from C$26.00 to C$25.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Enerplus from C$32.00 to C$33.00 in a research note on Monday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Enerplus in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enerplus

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ERF. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Enerplus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Enerplus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC acquired a new stake in Enerplus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Enerplus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.01% of the company’s stock.

Enerplus Price Performance

Shares of ERF stock opened at $17.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.36 and its 200-day moving average is $15.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 2.22. Enerplus has a 52 week low of $10.63 and a 52 week high of $19.23.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF – Get Rating) (TSE:ERF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $720.53 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a return on equity of 88.11% and a net margin of 34.14%. Equities research analysts expect that Enerplus will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 30th were given a dividend of $0.055 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 29th. This represents a $0.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from Enerplus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.48%.

About Enerplus

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Enerplus Corporation, together with subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and Canada. The company's oil and natural gas properties are located primarily in North Dakota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania; and Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.