ENERPLUS CORP. $14.89 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 205.2 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 7.6%) produces an average of 104,035 barrels of oil equivalent a day (58% gas and 42% oil). The company’s properties are mainly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C., North Dakota and Montana, as well as the Marcellus shale, which passes through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.
In the quarter ended September 30, 2014, Enerplus’s production rose 18.6% from a year earlier. Cash flow per share gained just 6.1%, to $1.04 from $0.98, as it realized lower prices for its oil.
Enerplus plans to spend $830 million on exploration and development for all of 2014 and about the same amount next year. By the end of 2015, it aims to produce over 111,000 barrels a day.
The company is forecast to generate cash flow of $4.09 a share in 2015, and it trades at 3.6 times that estimate. It paid out just 26% of its cash flow as dividends in the latest quarter, so its payout appears safe. The shares yield 7.3%.
Enerplus Corp. is still a buy.