Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Trading Down 7.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 7.1% to C$5.49 on Friday (low C$5.41) with mid-day volume of ~2.6M shares, about 65% below the average session volume.
• Analysts have been raising targets and ratings (e.g., Raymond James to C$7.00, RBC to C$6.50), leaving a consensus of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of C$6.18.
• Fundamentals show a quarterly loss of C($1.11), negative net margin (-40.77%) and high debt-to-equity (4.94), though the stock pays a ~1.6% yield and insiders have recently bought shares.

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE - Get Free Report) NYSE: BTE's stock price fell 7.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as C$5.41 and last traded at C$5.49. 2,604,121 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 7,423,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$5.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target 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. Raymond James Financial raised Baytex Energy from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. TD Securities raised their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. National Bank Financial raised their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Baytex Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of C$6.18.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is C$5.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$4.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.11 billion, a PE ratio of -7.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.42.

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 negative net margin of 40.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.25%. On average, research analysts predict that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Baytex Energy

In other news, insider Chad Lundberg bought 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$6.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$67,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 613,401 shares in the company, valued at C$3,772,416.15. The trade was a 1.83% increase in their position. Also, insider Chadwick Kalmakoff bought 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$5.73 per share, for a total transaction of C$85,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 382,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,190,756.63. This represents a 4.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders acquired 49,800 shares of company stock worth $293,188 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

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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