Signaturefd LLC Acquires 1,665 Shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,243 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Enerplus were worth $449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its holdings in Enerplus by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 30,835 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Enerplus by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,647 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Enerplus by 8.9% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Enerplus by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 101,608 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Enerplus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 58.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ERF has been the subject of several research reports. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Enerplus in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. CIBC dropped their price objective on Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “tender” rating and issued a $18.85 price objective (down from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ERF opened at $20.33 on Thursday. Enerplus Co. has a 52-week low of $13.46 and a 52-week high of $20.97. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.71 and its 200-day moving average is $16.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.99.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Enerplus had a return on equity of 40.36% and a net margin of 27.67%. The company had revenue of $437.10 million for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Enerplus Co. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 (DPR) 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.