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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the oil and natural gas company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Enerplus from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday. National Bankshares dropped their price target on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "tender" rating and issued a $18.85 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

NYSE ERF traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.59. 2,514,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,945,418. The business's 50 day moving average is $19.05 and its 200-day moving average is $16.81. Enerplus has a 1 year low of $13.46 and a 1 year high of $20.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ERF. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Enerplus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,550,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 30,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 2,580 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,398,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $21,429,000 after buying an additional 74,880 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,092,996 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $19,270,000 after buying an additional 1,078,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,366,419 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $130,050,000 after buying an additional 1,164,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.42% of the company's stock.

About Enerplus

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.