Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Short Interest Update

Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, an increase of 23.2% from the February 29th total of 2,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ERF. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Enerplus in a report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "tender" rating and issued a $18.85 price target (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.69.

Institutional Trading of Enerplus

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Enerplus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Enerplus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Enerplus in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Enerplus in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Enerplus by 80.3% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Enerplus Price Performance

NYSE:ERF traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,901,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,015,830. Enerplus has a fifty-two week low of $13.46 and a fifty-two week high of $19.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.79 and a 200-day moving average of $16.36.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Enerplus will post 1.83 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 paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from Enerplus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus's dividend payout ratio is 12.38%.

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.

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