Todd Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 170,900 Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Todd Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF - Free Report) TSE: ERF during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 170,900 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $2,622,000. Todd Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Enerplus as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Enerplus by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Enerplus by 8.9% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,616 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Enerplus by 1,314.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 257,590 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $4,541,000 after purchasing an additional 239,382 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Enerplus by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 56,389 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 2,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Enerplus in the 3rd quarter worth about $188,000. 58.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ERF shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Enerplus in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. CIBC reduced their price objective on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Enerplus from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. TD Securities reissued a "tender" rating and issued a $18.85 price objective (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their target price on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.69.

Enerplus Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ERF traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,077,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,014,999. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.87. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 1.97. Enerplus Co. has a twelve month low of $13.46 and a twelve month high of $20.97.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF - Get Free Report) TSE: ERF last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Enerplus Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 2.66%. 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.