How Much Did Enerplus Corporation's (TSE:ERF) CEO Pocket Last Year?

Ian Dundas has been the CEO of Enerplus Corporation (TSE:ERF) since 2013. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

See our latest analysis for Enerplus

How Does Ian Dundas's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that Enerplus Corporation is worth CA$2.3b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as CA$4.0m for the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at CA$527k. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of CA$1.3b to CA$4.2b. The median total CEO compensation was CA$2.9m.

Thus we can conclude that Ian Dundas receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Enerplus Corporation. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Enerplus, below.

Is Enerplus Corporation Growing?

Over the last three years Enerplus Corporation has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 56% per year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 24% over last year.

This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently. A good result. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business.

Has Enerplus Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Enerplus Corporation has generated a total shareholder return of 29% over three years, so most shareholders would be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

We compared the total CEO remuneration paid by Enerplus Corporation, and compared it to remuneration at a group of similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. We also note that, over the same time frame, shareholder returns haven't been bad. So, considering the EPS growth we do not wish to criticize the level of CEO compensation, though we'd recommend further research on management. Shareholders may want to check for free if Enerplus insiders are buying or selling shares.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.