Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:BIR - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$5.59 and traded as high as C$6.15. Birchcliff Energy shares last traded at C$6.05, with a volume of 1,087,016 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BIR. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cormark upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. CIBC raised shares of Birchcliff Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from C$7.00 to C$8.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$6.00 to C$7.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James set a C$7.50 target price on Birchcliff Energy and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$7.09.

Birchcliff Energy Trading Down 3.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$5.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$5.59. The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.93. 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 Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Birchcliff Energy's payout ratio is presently 700.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Hue Tran sold 30,000 shares of the company's 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 over the last quarter. 1.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.