Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH) Downgraded by TD Securities to “Strong Sell”

TD Securities downgraded shares of Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$12.00 price target on Athabasca Oil and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Desjardins set a C$12.50 price objective on Athabasca Oil and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut Athabasca Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$12.50 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, TD cut Athabasca Oil from a “hold” rating to a “tender” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from C$11.00 to C$12.00 in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Athabasca Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$11.61.

Athabasca Oil Price Performance

ATH opened at C$12.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$10.64 and a 200-day moving average price of C$10.87. Athabasca Oil has a twelve month low of C$6.11 and a twelve month high of C$12.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.95. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 0.10.

Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported C$0.13 EPS for the quarter. Athabasca Oil had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of C$306.54 million for the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Athabasca Oil will post 0.5403473 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Athabasca Oil

In other news, insider Athabasca Oil Corporation purchased 48,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$10.28 per share, with a total value of C$500,636.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 985,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$10,132,996. This trade represents a 5.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 1,150,600 shares of company stock valued at $12,167,863. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Key Athabasca Oil News

Here are the key news stories impacting Athabasca Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cenovus will pay C$12.00 per Athabasca share, representing a 14% premium to Athabasca’s 20-day volume-weighted average price. The consideration will consist of 65% cash and 35% Cenovus shares, with shareholders able to choose their preferred mix, subject to allocation limits. Athabasca Oil Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Cenovus Energy
• Positive Sentiment: The deal gives Athabasca investors a defined takeover value and reflects Cenovus’s interest in expanding its oil-sands operations. The acquisition is expected to add roughly 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to Cenovus’s production and provide greater control of strategic oil-sands and Duvernay assets. Cenovus to Buy Athabasca Oil at US$4 Billion Valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: TD downgraded Athabasca from “hold” to “tender” while raising its price target from C$11.00 to C$12.00. The recommendation indicates investors should tender their shares into the acquisition rather than continue holding the standalone company, with the target aligned to the cash offer. BayStreet report
• Negative Sentiment: Because Athabasca’s shares are trading around or above the C$12.00 offer price, further upside is limited unless the transaction terms improve. Investors also remain exposed to closing, regulatory and shareholder-approval risks, while the stock’s value will partly depend on Cenovus’s share price for the stock component.

About Athabasca Oil

Athabasca Oil Corporation is a Canadian energy company with a focused strategy on the development of thermal and light oil assets. Situated in Alberta’s Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, the Company has amassed a significant land base of extensive, high quality resources. Athabasca’s light oil assets are held in a private subsidiary (Duvernay Energy Corporation) in which Athabasca owns a 70% equity interest. Athabasca’s common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol ‘ATH’.