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

Shares of Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$4.99 and last traded at C$4.95, with a volume of 9511472 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$4.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Baytex Energy Stock Up 4.9%

The firm has a market cap of C$3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$4.54 and its 200-day moving average is C$3.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.14%.

Insider Transactions at Baytex Energy

In related news, insider Chad Lundberg bought 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$4.36 per share, with a total value of C$50,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$4.50 per share, for a total transaction of C$90,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 575,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,590,371. The trade was a 3.60% increase in their position. Corporate 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.