Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as C$5.59 and last traded at C$5.43, with a volume of 6509052 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$5.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from C$5.00 to C$4.75 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Baytex Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$5.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$5.32.

Baytex Energy Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.05, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$4.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$4.06. The firm has a market cap of C$4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.94.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C($1.11) EPS for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a return on equity of 5.16% and a net margin of 5.60%. As a group, analysts predict that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.14%.

Insider Activity at Baytex Energy

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

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.