Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) Holdings Boosted by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enerplus Co. (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,398,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,880 shares during the quarter. Enerplus accounts for 0.9% of Intact Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Enerplus were worth $21,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Enerplus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,550,000. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 9.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 30,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 2,580 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 7,592.3% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,092,996 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $19,270,000 after buying an additional 1,078,787 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 18.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,366,419 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $130,050,000 after buying an additional 1,164,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Enerplus by 28.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,024,995 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $18,036,000 after buying an additional 230,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.42% of the company’s stock.

Enerplus Price Performance

Enerplus stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,526,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,161,475. 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 capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.99. Enerplus Co. has a twelve month low of $13.46 and a twelve month high of $20.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.79.

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) (TSE:ERF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts forecast that Enerplus Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Enerplus Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ERF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Enerplus in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “tender” rating and set a $18.85 price objective (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Enerplus in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Enerplus from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.69.

Enerplus Profile

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.