Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Short Interest Up 8.3% in April

Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a growth of 8.3% from the March 31st total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ERF. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Enerplus in the third quarter worth about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Enerplus by 356.5% in 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. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Enerplus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of Enerplus by 311.9% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 4,667 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. 58.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enerplus Price Performance

Shares of Enerplus stock traded down $0.79 on Tuesday, hitting $19.59. 2,514,476 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,945,418. Enerplus has a 12-month low of $13.46 and a 12-month high of $20.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $19.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.83. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The business 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%. Analysts expect that Enerplus will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. This is an increase from Enerplus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus's payout ratio is presently 12.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ERF shares. CIBC reduced their price objective 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. TD Securities reissued a "tender" rating and issued a $18.85 price target (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded 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 report on Monday. National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Enerplus has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.69.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.