Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Sets New 1-Year High at $19.85

Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $19.85 and last traded at $19.81, with a volume of 138332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. CIBC lowered their target price on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Securities reissued a "tender" rating and set a $18.85 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Enerplus in a research report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 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.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF last announced its earnings results 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 firm 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, research analysts forecast that Enerplus Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Enerplus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Enerplus's dividend payout ratio is 12.38%.

Institutional Trading of Enerplus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ERF. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Enerplus by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 30,620 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 18,625 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Enerplus by 656.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 135,638 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,723,000 after acquiring an additional 117,700 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Enerplus by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 116,659 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 13,430 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Enerplus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Enerplus during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $138,000. 58.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Enerplus

Enerplus Corporation, together with 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.