Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF - Free Report) TSE: ERF by 61.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,881,849 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 718,606 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.93% of Enerplus worth $28,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ERF. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Enerplus in the third quarter worth about $88,150,000. Palo Duro Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Enerplus in the first quarter worth about $48,125,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Enerplus during the first quarter valued at approximately $20,622,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Enerplus by 74.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,986,433 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $37,906,000 after buying an additional 1,271,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Enerplus by 2,503.6% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 1,144,173 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $16,212,000 after buying an additional 1,100,227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Enerplus Price Performance

Shares of Enerplus stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $20.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,812,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,383,464. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $13.46 and a 1 year high of $20.97. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.56.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Enerplus Co. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Enerplus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Enerplus's dividend payout ratio is 12.38%.

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.