Enerplus Co. (TSE:ERF) Receives C$23.67 Average PT from Brokerages

Enerplus Co. (TSE:ERF) (NYSE:ERF) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$23.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Ian Charles Dundas sold 104,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Enerplus Stock Performance

ERF opened at C$27.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.31. 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$25.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$22.56. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 2.65.

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

Enerplus Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a mar 24 dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Enerplus’s 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.