Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) Stock Price Down 8.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares plunged 8.2% to $3.955 on Friday, with about 5.35 million shares traded — roughly 75% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Quarterly results missed badly: EPS of ($0.31) versus $0.02 expected and revenue $251.4M versus $545.6M forecast, leaving negative net margin and return on equity.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" after mixed rating changes (1 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell); the company also pays a small quarterly dividend (annualized $0.09, ~2.2% yield).

Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE - Get Free Report) TSE: BTE's share price dropped 8.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $3.96 and last traded at $3.9550. Approximately 5,351,580 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 21,118,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Baytex Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Baytex Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. TD Securities downgraded Baytex Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Baytex Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Baytex Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 3.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 0.32.

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE - Get Free Report) TSE: BTE last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.33). Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 16.96% and a negative return on equity of 5.44%. The company had revenue of $251.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $545.60 million. Equities research analysts expect that Baytex Energy Corp will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.0225 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Baytex Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently -12.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baytex Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 5,054 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised 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 worth $44,000 after buying an additional 6,691 shares during the period. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 67,571 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 7,921 shares during the period. United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 100,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 81,854 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 10,435 shares during the period. 46.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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