Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Stock Price Down 10.3% – Here’s Why

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s share price traded down 10.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as C$5.52 and last traded at C$5.58. 946,162 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 7,522,769 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$6.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from C$5.00 to C$4.75 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Securities boosted their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$6.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, National Bank Financial boosted their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Baytex Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$5.86.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 3.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$5.36 and a 200-day moving average of C$4.48. The firm has a market cap of C$4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.42.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C($1.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 40.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.25%. Research analysts anticipate that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is currently -11.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James Robert Maclean bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$5.73 per share, with a total value of C$57,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 185,322 shares in the company, valued at C$1,061,895.06. The trade was a 5.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Chad Lundberg purchased 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$6.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$67,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 613,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$3,772,416.15. The trade was a 1.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders acquired a total of 49,800 shares of company stock worth $293,188 in the last three months. 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.