Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s stock price hit 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. The stock had previously closed at C$4.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial upgraded Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from C$5.00 to C$4.75 in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities cut Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$5.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$4.79.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 0.4%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$4.47 and its 200 day moving average price is C$3.66. The company has a market cap of C$3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported C$0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Baytex Energy

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