Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH) Stock Moved Down to Hold by Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies downgraded Athabasca Oil from “buy” to “hold” and lowered its price target from C$13.00 to C$12.00, implying roughly 1.15% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious: six analysts rate the stock “hold” and one rates it “sell,” producing a consensus “reduce” rating and an average price target of C$11.22.
• Athabasca shares traded at C$12.14, near their 52-week high, while insiders have bought 1.11 million shares worth approximately C$11.8 million over the past 90 days.

Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday, BayStreet reports. They presently have a C$12.00 price target on the oil and gas exploration company's stock, down from their prior price target of C$13.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price suggests a potential downside of 1.15% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD cut shares of Athabasca Oil from a "hold" rating to a "tender" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from C$11.00 to C$12.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Desjardins set a C$12.50 price objective on Athabasca Oil and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities cut Athabasca Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded 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, Raymond James Financial cut Athabasca Oil from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from C$14.00 to C$12.00 in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of C$11.22.

Athabasca Oil Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:ATH traded down C$0.01 on Monday, reaching C$12.14. 5,007,362 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,813,170. Athabasca Oil has a fifty-two week low of C$6.22 and a fifty-two week high of C$12.86. The business's 50-day moving average is C$10.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$10.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.95. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 0.10.

Athabasca Oil (TSE:ATH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of C$306.54 million for the quarter. Athabasca Oil had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 12.57%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Athabasca Oil will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Athabasca Oil Corporation acquired 49,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$10.14 per share, with a total value of C$501,930.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 742,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$7,524,894. The trade was a 7.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have acquired 1,112,500 shares of company stock worth $11,759,050 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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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