5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Enerplus

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, independent oil and gas producer Enerplus (NYSE: ERF  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Enerplus' business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Enerplus facts

Headquarters (Founded) Calgary, Canada (1986)
Market Cap $5.1 billion
Industry Oil and gas exploration and production
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $1.1 billion
Management CEO Gordon Kerr
CFO Robert Waters
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 9.9%
Cash/Debt $4.4 million / $518.5 million
Dividend Yield 7.6%
Competitors Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ  )

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 684 members who have rated Enerplus believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include UglyFool99 and All-Star Staka, who is ranked in the top 5% of our community.?

This past summer, UglyFool99 tapped the stock as a solid income opportunity: "Enerplus has excellent cash flow and pays a good dividend. Inflation will help the price of oil and this will be good for Enerplus."

Currently, Enerplus even! sports a cheapish P/E of 9.5. That represents a clear discount to industry peers like Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC  ) (49.6) and Canadian Natural Resources (31.3), but it trails Devon's (NYSE: DVN  ) (5.0) dirt-cheap ratio.

CAPS All-Star Staka weighs Enerplus' pros and cons:

Positive:
- High yield, low debt blue chip.
- Good margins.

Negative:
- Dividend has to go down in the near future and although this is an expected fact it might lead to some knee jerk reaction in the stock price
- If oil and gas prices go down the outlook (and again the dividend) might change but with ongoing dollar devaluation I have the impression that in the coming recession resource plays might keep up somewhat better than usual.

What do you think about Enerplus, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

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