Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Baytex Energy's stock hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as C$5.59 intraday and last at C$5.43 on volume of about 6.51 million shares.
• Several analysts raised price targets and ratings (notably National Bank Financial, BMO, TD and Scotiabank), but the MarketBeat consensus remains "Hold" with an average target of C$5.32.
• Baytex declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.0225 per share (annualized C$0.09, ~1.7% yield; ex-dividend Mar 13, payable Apr 1), and insiders including Director Mark Bly and Chad Lundberg made recent buys that modestly increased their ownership.

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE's stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$5.59 and last traded at C$5.43, with a volume of 6509052 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$5.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTE has been the subject of several research reports. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Baytex Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three 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 has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$5.32.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$4.78 and a 200-day moving average price of C$4.06.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C($1.11) earnings per share for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a net margin of 5.60% and a return on equity of 5.16%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Baytex Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baytex Energy

In other news, Director Mark Bly purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$4.50 per share, with a total value of C$90,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 575,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$2,590,371. This represents a 3.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Chad Lundberg acquired 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$4.36 per share, with a total value of C$50,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 532,801 shares in the company, valued at C$2,323,012.36. This represents a 2.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. 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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