Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Downgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to Sector Perform

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on BTE. Scotiabank upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from C$4.00 to C$5.25 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. National Bankshares lowered their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$4.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$4.79.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Baytex Energy stock traded down C$0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting C$4.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,902,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,619,689. Baytex Energy has a 12 month low of C$1.91 and a 12 month high of C$4.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$4.29 and a 200 day moving average of C$3.47.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported C$0.04 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$746.42 million for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 10.45% and a negative return on equity of 8.96%. Analysts predict that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Baytex Energy

In other news, insider Chad Lundberg bought 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$4.36 per share, with a total value of C$50,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 532,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,323,012.36. This trade represents a 2.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director Mark Bly acquired 20,000 shares of Baytex Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$4.50 per share, with a total value of C$90,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 575,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,590,371. The trade was a 3.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp is an oil and gas company. Geographically, the group operates in Canada and the United States. The company derives a majority of revenue from Canada. Its Canada segment includes the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas in Western Canada.