Intact Investment Management Inc. Has $21.43 Million Stock Position in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF - Free Report) TSE: ERF by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,398,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,880 shares during the quarter. Enerplus accounts for about 0.9% of Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Intact Investment Management Inc. owned 0.69% of Enerplus worth $21,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ERF. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Enerplus by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 67,016 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 6,904 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Enerplus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in Enerplus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $339,000. South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in Enerplus by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 580,435 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $8,904,000 after purchasing an additional 54,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Enerplus by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 29,243 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ERF shares. CIBC cut their price objective 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 shares of Enerplus in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of 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 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Enerplus currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Stock Performance

NYSE:ERF traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,526,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,161,475. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.79. Enerplus Co. has a 12-month low of $13.46 and a 12-month high of $20.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.99.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share 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 net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 40.36%. On average, equities analysts expect that Enerplus Co. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from Enerplus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus's payout ratio is presently 12.38%.

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.