Topic: How To Invest

ENERPLUS CORP. $23.21 – Toronto symbol ERF

ENERPLUS CORP. $23.21 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 204.2 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.7%) produces an average of 94,167 barrels of oil equivalent a day (59% gas and 41% 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 three months ended June 30, 2014, Enerplus’s production rose 15.5% from a year earlier. However, cash flow per share increased just 2.0%, to $1.04 from $1.02, as it realized lower prices for its Marcellus shale gas.

The company cut its exploration and development budget by 19.7% in 2013, to $685 million from $853 million in 2012. Enerplus expected this to slow its production growth, but drilling success at Marcellus has pushed its output higher.

Enerplus now plans to spend $800 million in 2014. It aims to end the year with production of over 104,000 barrels a day.

The company’s debt is $975.4 million, or a manageable 19.9% of its market cap. The stock trades at 5.0 times Enerplus’s forecast 2014 cash flow of $4.60 a share. It yields 4.7%.

Enerplus Corp. is still a buy.

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