Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$4.89 and last traded at C$4.76, with a volume of 4071035 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$4.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BTE shares. TD Securities cut shares of Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$5.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Capital One Financial raised shares of Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$4.79.

Baytex Energy Trading Up 2.6%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$4.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$3.64. The firm has a market cap of C$3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported C$0.04 EPS for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 10.45% and a negative return on equity of 8.96%. The company had revenue of C$746.42 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.0225 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Baytex Energy

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.