Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": Nine brokerages give Baytex an average rating of Hold (1 sell, 4 hold, 3 buy, 1 strong buy), with recent mixed analyst actions including upgrades from Raymond James and Canaccord and a downgrade from TD Securities.
• Quarterly results missed: Baytex reported EPS of ($0.31) vs. $0.02 expected and revenue of $251.4M vs. $545.6M consensus, resulting in a negative net margin and negative ROE; sell‑side analysts forecast FY EPS of $0.18.
• Stock and payout profile: Shares opened at $4.99 (market cap ~$3.64B), the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.0225 (annual $0.09, ~1.8% yield), has low leverage (debt/equity 0.05) and ~46% institutional ownership.

Shares of Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE - Get Free Report) TSE: BTE have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company.

BTE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Securities lowered shares of Baytex Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Baytex Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baytex Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baytex Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in Baytex Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baytex Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Baytex Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 98.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 13,490 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 6,691 shares during the period. 46.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baytex Energy Stock Down 1.5%

Baytex Energy stock opened at $4.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $4.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.46. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 3.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Baytex Energy has a 1-year low of $1.44 and a 1-year high of $5.14.

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE - Get Free Report) TSE: BTE last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $251.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.60 million. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 16.96% and a negative return on equity of 5.44%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Baytex Energy will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Baytex Energy's payout ratio is currently -10.53%.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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