Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) Stock Falls 7.1% – Should You Sell?

Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE)’s stock price was down 7.1% on Monday. The company traded as low as $5.02 and last traded at $4.9960. 4,121,347 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 19,518,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BTE. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baytex Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.28 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.93 and a 200-day moving average of $4.39.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $449.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $218.10 million. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 26.43% and a negative return on equity of 7.77%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Baytex Energy Corp will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baytex Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BTE. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Baytex Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $197,114,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Baytex Energy by 816.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,003,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $98,381,000 after buying an additional 19,601,808 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,123,098 shares during the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Baytex Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $68,000,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Baytex Energy in the second quarter valued at about $51,086,024. 46.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp. is a Canadian oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops and produces crude oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

Baytex’s operations are focused on the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta and Saskatchewan and the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas. Its portfolio includes light oil, heavy oil and natural gas assets, with production sold into North American energy markets.

Founded in 1993, Baytex became a publicly traded corporation in 2010 after operating as an income trust.