TD Securities Raises Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Price Target to $20.09

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) had its price objective upped by research analysts at TD Securities from $19.07 to $20.09 in a report issued on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a “sell” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock. TD Securities’ price target indicates a potential downside of 0.10% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Enerplus in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Enerplus from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, CIBC cut their target price on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Enerplus currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.87.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ERF traded up $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.11. 1,879,373 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,873,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Enerplus has a 52-week low of $13.46 and a 52-week high of $20.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.38 and a 200-day moving average of $16.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. Analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enerplus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ERF. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Enerplus by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enerplus by 8.9% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,616 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Enerplus by 1,314.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 257,590 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $4,541,000 after purchasing an additional 239,382 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enerplus by 4.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 56,389 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Enerplus by 14.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 42,969 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 5,533 shares in the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.