Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$4.81 and last traded at C$4.70, with a volume of 9413561 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$4.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTE has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$4.00 to C$5.25 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$4.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baytex Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$4.75.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is C$4.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$3.50. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38.

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

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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

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.