Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF - Free Report) TSE: ERF by 68.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,918 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 38,471 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Enerplus were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new stake in Enerplus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $88,150,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,366,419 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $130,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,478 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,092,996 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $19,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,787 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 115.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 906,788 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $15,955,000 after purchasing an additional 486,400 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Enerplus by 69.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,054,534 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $17,967,000 after purchasing an additional 431,868 shares during the period. 58.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Enerplus Stock Up 0.6 %
ERF stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.28. 1,127,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,013,072. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 1.99. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.69. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $13.46 and a 52 week high of $20.97.
Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Enerplus had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. The business had revenue of $437.10 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Enerplus Co. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Enerplus Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Enerplus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Enerplus's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.38%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Securities reiterated a "tender" rating and set a $18.85 target price (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.69.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Enerplus
Enerplus Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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