Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus “Moderate Buy”: Eight analysts cover Baytex, with five buys and three holds, giving a consensus 12‑month price target of C$6.18.
• Analysts have recently upgraded and raised targets—e.g., Canaccord and Raymond James lifted Baytex to buy/moderate buy with targets of C$7.00, and RBC raised its objective to C$6.50.
• Snapshot: shares opened at C$5.76 (market cap ~C$4.25B), last quarter EPS was C($1.11) with a negative net margin, a 1.6% annualized dividend yield, and insiders have bought ~49,800 shares in the past three months.

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$6.18.

Several research analysts have recently commented on BTE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from C$5.25 to C$7.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$6.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTE opened at C$5.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of C$4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.38, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$5.50 and a 200-day moving average of C$4.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. Baytex Energy has a 52 week low of C$2.00 and a 52 week high of C$6.35.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C($1.11) EPS for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 16.25% and a negative net margin of 40.77%. As a group, analysts forecast that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a $0.0225 dividend. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Baytex Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -11.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole Marie Frechette purchased 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$5.84 per share, for a total transaction of C$49,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 73,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$426,471.84. The trade was a 13.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Chadwick Kalmakoff acquired 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$5.73 per share, for a total transaction of C$85,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 382,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,190,756.63. This trade represents a 4.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. In the last three months, insiders purchased 49,800 shares of company stock worth $293,188. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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