Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Price Target Raised to C$8.50

Key Points

• National Bank Financial raised its price target on Baytex Energy to C$8.50 (from C$7.50) and kept a "sector perform" rating, implying about a 27.44% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but tilted positive: five firms rate the stock Buy and five Hold, giving a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of C$7.00, and several brokers recently raised targets or upgraded ratings.
• Shares traded at C$6.67 recently with a market cap of C$4.92B; the company reported negative quarterly EPS (C($0.09)) and margins, but insiders have been buying—about 49,800 shares acquired over the last quarter.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE had its target price upped by National Bank Financial from C$7.50 to C$8.50 in a research note issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the stock. National Bank Financial's price target points to a potential upside of 27.44% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on BTE. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$5.25 to C$7.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$6.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Securities boosted 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$7.00.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:BTE traded up C$0.03 on Friday, hitting C$6.67. 4,958,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,523,539. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is C$5.86 and its 200 day moving average price is C$4.87. Baytex Energy has a 1-year low of C$2.18 and a 1-year high of C$7.14. The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.58.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported C($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$401.37 million during the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 16.25% and a negative net margin of 40.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chadwick Kalmakoff purchased 15,000 shares of Baytex Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$5.73 per share, with a total value of C$85,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 382,331 shares in the company, valued at C$2,190,756.63. This represents a 4.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider James Robert Maclean acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$5.73 per share, with a total value of C$57,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 185,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$1,061,895.06. This trade represents a 5.70% increase in their position. Insiders have acquired 49,800 shares of company stock worth $293,188 over the last quarter. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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