Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) Shares Up 6.2% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) rose 6.2% during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $4.66 and last traded at $4.5250. Approximately 6,177,200 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 20,472,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.26.

The oil and gas producer reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $449.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.10 million. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 24.25% and a negative return on equity of 10.85%.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is -8.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BTE shares. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTE. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in Baytex Energy during the first quarter worth about $576,000. Amundi bought a new position in Baytex Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $420,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Baytex Energy by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,071,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $89,695,000 after buying an additional 6,123,098 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 2,091.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 571,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 545,808 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,471,800 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $24,459,000 after acquiring an additional 176,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.15% of the company’s stock.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.43 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.18.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.