Enerplus Co. (TSE:ERF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Enerplus Co. (TSE:ERF) (NYSE:ERF) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$23.67.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Enerplus from C$24.00 to C$25.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. ATB Capital cut their price target on shares of Enerplus from C$27.00 to C$26.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Enerplus from C$17.50 to C$19.25 and gave the stock a “tender” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Enerplus from C$27.75 to C$27.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their target price on shares of Enerplus from C$21.00 to C$18.85 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Insider Activity at Enerplus

In related news, Senior Officer Ian Charles Dundas sold 104,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$24.13, for a total value of C$2,521,965.58. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Enerplus Stock Performance

ERF stock opened at C$28.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.31. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 2.65. Enerplus has a 12 month low of C$18.23 and a 12 month high of C$28.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$24.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$22.49.

Enerplus (TSE:ERF) (NYSE:ERF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported C$0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.71 by C$0.03. The firm had revenue of C$595.12 million during the quarter. Enerplus had a net margin of 29.85% and a return on equity of 39.59%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Enerplus will post 3.001087 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a mar 24 dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.32%.

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.