Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$5.25 to C$5.50. Scotiabank currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Baytex Energy traded as high as C$4.85 and last traded at C$4.82, with a volume of 3129358 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$4.66.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. National Bankshares dropped their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$4.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. TD Securities lowered Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$5.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut Baytex Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$4.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baytex Energy

In other Baytex Energy news, Director Mark Bly bought 20,000 shares of Baytex Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$4.50 per share, with a total value of C$90,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 575,638 shares in the company, valued at C$2,590,371. This trade represents a 3.60% increase in their position. Also, insider Chad Lundberg purchased 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$4.36 per share, for a total transaction of C$50,140.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 532,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,323,012.36. The trade was a 2.21% increase in their position. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$4.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$3.56.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported C$0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 10.45% and a negative return on equity of 8.96%. The business had revenue of C$746.42 million during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is 32.14%.

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.