Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH) Downgraded by TD to Tender

Key Points

• TD downgraded Athabasca Oil from “hold” to “tender”, raising its price target to C$12.00 from C$11.00; the target implied 1.48% downside from the prior close.
• Athabasca shares rose 1.4% to C$12.18, near their 52-week high of C$12.86. Analysts maintain a consensus “hold” rating with an average target price of C$11.61.
• Cenovus agreed to acquire Athabasca for C$12.00 per share, comprising 65% cash and 35% Cenovus shares. The transaction remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, while Cenovus’s stock performance could affect the value of the share-based consideration.

Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at TD from a "hold" rating to a "tender" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, BayStreet reports. They presently have a C$12.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company's stock, up from their previous target price of C$11.00. TD's price objective indicates a potential downside of 1.48% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Desjardins set a C$12.50 price objective on shares of Athabasca Oil and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut Athabasca Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a C$12.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$12.00 price objective on Athabasca Oil and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$11.61.

Athabasca Oil Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of ATH traded up C$0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching C$12.18. The company had a trading volume of 13,476,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,266. The stock has a market cap of C$5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$10.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$10.85. Athabasca Oil has a fifty-two week low of C$6.11 and a fifty-two week high of C$12.86.

Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported C$0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$306.54 million during the quarter. Athabasca Oil had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 12.57%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Athabasca Oil will post 0.5403473 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Athabasca Oil

In other news, insider Athabasca Oil Corporation purchased 49,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$10.14 per share, with a total value of C$501,930.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 742,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$7,524,894. This trade represents a 7.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,150,600 shares of company stock valued at $12,167,863. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More 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. Consideration will consist of 65% cash and 35% Cenovus shares, although shareholders may elect their preferred mix subject to allocation limits. Athabasca Oil Announces Agreement to Be Acquired by Cenovus Energy
• Positive Sentiment: The transaction gives Athabasca investors a substantial cash component while retaining potential exposure to Cenovus through the share consideration. It also places a floor under ATH’s valuation, subject to deal completion and movements in Cenovus’s stock price.
• Positive Sentiment: Cenovus expects the acquisition to expand its oil-sands footprint and add roughly 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production. The deal would also give Cenovus full control of certain Duvernay assets and is intended to generate operating and scale benefits. Cenovus Strikes C$5.7B Deal to Buy Athabasca Oil
• Neutral Sentiment: The transaction requires customary regulatory, court and shareholder approvals. Until closing, ATH remains exposed to completion risk and fluctuations in Cenovus’s share price, which affects the value of the stock component.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate Cenovus shares weakened on investor concerns about the debt and financing burden created by the acquisition. Those concerns primarily affect CVE, but a prolonged decline in Cenovus’s stock could reduce the value of Athabasca shareholders’ share-based consideration. Cenovus Tumbles as Athabasca Deal Raises Debt Concerns

Athabasca Oil Company Profile

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'.

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