Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH) Downgraded to "Market Perform" Rating by BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets downgraded Athabasca Oil from “outperform” to “market perform,” while maintaining a C$12.50 price target—implying 16.6% upside from the reported share price.
• Athabasca Oil shares fell 6.4% to C$10.72 in Wednesday trading. The broader analyst consensus is “Hold,” with an average price target of C$11.56.
• Insiders have been buying shares, including a recent 46,900-share purchase worth approximately C$500,892; insiders acquired about 1.1 million shares over the past three months.

Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, BayStreet reports. They presently have a C$12.50 target price on the oil and gas exploration company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price suggests a potential upside of 16.60% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ATH. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$12.00 price objective on shares of Athabasca Oil and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Desjardins set a C$12.50 target price on shares of Athabasca Oil and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a C$14.00 price target on shares of Athabasca Oil and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$11.56.

Athabasca Oil Stock Down 6.4%

Shares of ATH traded down C$0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching C$10.72. 2,711,314 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,434,320. Athabasca Oil has a 1-year low of C$6.11 and a 1-year high of C$12.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$10.69 and a 200-day moving average price of C$10.70. 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 company has a market cap of C$5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of -0.51 and a beta of -0.17.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Athabasca Oil Corporation purchased 46,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$10.68 per share, with a total value of C$500,892.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 994,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$10,618,056. The trade was a 4.95% increase in their position. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,101,600 shares of company stock valued at $11,703,306 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Athabasca Oil

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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