Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

BTE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Baytex Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baytex Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Baytex Energy by 214.0% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,868,370 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,687,000 after purchasing an additional 6,044,270 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Baytex Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,071,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $89,695,000 after buying an additional 6,123,098 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Baytex Energy by 816.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,003,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $98,381,000 after acquiring an additional 19,601,808 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Baytex Energy by 2,091.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 571,906 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 545,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,353,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $19,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,285 shares during the last quarter. 46.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTE opened at $4.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.79 and a beta of 0.39. Baytex Energy has a fifty-two week low of $1.93 and a fifty-two week high of $5.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.79, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.26.

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.09. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 26.43% and a negative return on equity of 7.77%. The business had revenue of $449.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.10 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Baytex Energy will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is -10.45%.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.