Smart buy for Enerplus

Article Excerpt

ENERPLUS CORP., $7.14, is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 256.8 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 1.7%) has just closed its acquisition of Williston Basin assets. It paid Hess Corp $312 million U.S. The producing assets include 78,700 acres of exploration lands in North Dakota. That acreage has a strong inventory of drilling locations that will let Enerplus boost the site’s output. With the new fields, the company now expects its total 2021 output to average between 111,000 to 115,000 barrels per day. That’s up from its previous estimate of 103,500 to 108,500 barrels. Enerplus has also lowered its capital spending forecast for this year to between $335 million and $385 million, from $360 million to $400 million. Meanwhile, the stock trades at only 5.0 times its forecast 2021 cash flow of $1.43 per share. Investors also benefit from a 1.7% yield. Enerplus Corp. is a buy. buy…