Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a report released on Tuesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

ERF has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Securities reiterated a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price target (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Enerplus from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, National Bankshares reduced their target price on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enerplus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ERF opened at $19.34 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus has a 12 month low of $13.46 and a 12 month high of $20.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.84.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Enerplus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 15.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,109,040 shares during the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Enerplus during the third quarter valued at $88,150,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Enerplus by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,182,271 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $64,156,000 after buying an additional 940,419 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Enerplus by 94.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,097,412 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Enerplus by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,881,849 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,868,000 after acquiring an additional 718,606 shares during the period. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Enerplus Company Profile

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.