Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) Price Target Increased to $20.09 by Analysts at TD Securities

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Free Report) TSE: ERF had its price objective increased by TD Securities from $19.07 to $20.09 in a research note published on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has a sell rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ERF. CIBC decreased their target price on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on Enerplus in a report on Wednesday. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Enerplus from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and raised their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their price objective on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $21.87.

Enerplus Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ERF traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $20.12. 1,890,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,877,701. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 1.97. Enerplus has a twelve month low of $13.46 and a twelve month high of $20.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Enerplus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus's payout ratio is currently 12.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Enerplus by 356.5% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,958 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of Enerplus by 311.9% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,667 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares during the period. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.42% of the company's stock.

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.