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

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

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Enerplus from C$24.00 to C$25.50 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$17.50 to C$19.25 and gave the stock a tender rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. ATB Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$27.00 to C$26.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their price objective on shares of Enerplus from C$21.00 to C$18.85 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$24.36.

Enerplus Stock Up 0.5 %

TSE ERF opened at C$28.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is C$25.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$22.77. The company 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 has a 1-year low of C$18.23 and a 1-year high of C$28.84.

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

Enerplus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a mar 24 dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.32%.

Insider Activity at Enerplus

In related news, Senior Officer Ian Charles Dundas sold 104,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$24.13, for a total value of C$2,521,965.58. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.