Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:BIR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$6.95 and last traded at C$6.94, with a volume of 269452 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$6.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BIR. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Birchcliff Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James set a C$7.50 price target on shares of Birchcliff Energy and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of Birchcliff Energy from C$8.00 to C$8.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cormark upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Birchcliff Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$7.00 to C$8.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Birchcliff Energy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of C$7.16.

Birchcliff Energy Trading Up 2.4%

The firm has a market cap of C$1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$6.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$5.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.63.

Birchcliff Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Birchcliff Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 700.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Hue Tran sold 30,000 shares of Birchcliff Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$6.30, for a total value of C$189,000.00. Insiders sold 32,600 shares of company stock valued at $205,716 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company's stock.

Birchcliff Energy Company Profile

Birchcliff Energy Ltd is an intermediate oil and gas company that explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, light oil, and natural gas liquids. The company conducts its drilling program in resource plays located in the Peace River Arch region of Alberta. Birchcliff focuses on operating nearly all its high working production, which is surrounded by blocks of high working interest lands where it owns and/or controls the infrastructure.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.