Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$5.32.

BTE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$5.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. National Bank Financial upped their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th.

Baytex Energy Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of TSE:BTE opened at C$5.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of C$4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.05. Baytex Energy has a 12-month low of C$1.91 and a 12-month high of C$5.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$4.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$4.06.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C($1.11) EPS for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 5.16%. Analysts predict that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.14%.

Insider Activity at Baytex Energy

In other Baytex Energy news, Director Mark Bly purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$4.50 per share, for a total transaction of C$90,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 575,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,590,371. This represents a 3.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Chad Lundberg acquired 11,500 shares of Baytex Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 532,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,323,012.36. This trade represents a 2.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Company 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.