Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) in a research note issued to investors on Sunday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on ERF. TD Securities reissued a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price objective (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, National Bankshares cut their target price on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enerplus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

ERF stock opened at $20.47 on Friday. Enerplus has a one year low of $13.46 and a one year high of $20.97. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.58.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $437.10 million during the quarter. Enerplus had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enerplus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ERF. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,670 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc increased its holdings in Enerplus by 2.6% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 30,835 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Enerplus by 8.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 80.3% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Enerplus by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,177 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. 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.