Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Given New C$6.50 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to C$6.50 (from C$5.00) with a "sector perform" rating, implying about a 14.6% upside; the analyst consensus average target is C$5.66 with ratings split evenly between Buy and Hold (average "Moderate Buy").
• Baytex stock traded down 8.8% to C$5.67 midday, has a market cap of C$4.19 billion and a 52‑week range of C$1.91–C$6.35, and the company reported a quarterly loss (EPS C($1.11)) with negative margins and a high debt-to-equity ratio (4.94).
• Insiders have been buying recently — 49,800 shares purchased in the last 90 days (including two recent purchases) — with insiders now owning about 0.83% of the company.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from C$5.00 to C$6.50 in a report issued on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 14.64% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. National Bank Financial upped their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from C$5.00 to C$4.75 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$5.66.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 8.8%

BTE stock traded down C$0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching C$5.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,146,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,590,012. Baytex Energy has a 52 week low of C$1.91 and a 52 week high of C$6.35. The stock has a market cap of C$4.19 billion, a PE ratio of -7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 3.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is C$5.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$4.47.

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 net margin of 40.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Robert Maclean purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$5.73 per share, for a total transaction of C$57,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 185,322 shares in the company, valued at C$1,061,895.06. The trade was a 5.70% increase in their position. Also, insider Chad Lundberg purchased 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$6.15 per share, with a total value of C$67,650.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 613,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$3,772,416.15. The trade was a 1.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 49,800 shares of company stock worth $293,188. 0.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

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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