Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Technical move: Birchcliff shares crossed above their 200‑day moving average (200‑day MA C$6.92), trading as high as C$7.55 and last at C$6.77 on volume of about 3.11M, signaling near‑term technical strength.
• Analyst outlook: Analysts' consensus is a "Buy" with a C$8.71 average price target — Haywood raised its target to C$10 and BMO upgraded to "outperform," while CIBC cut its rating to "hold."
• Fundamentals and payout: the company has a C$1.86B market cap, a PE of 28.21 and reported C$0.10 EPS last quarter; it pays a quarterly dividend of C$0.03 (annualized yield 1.8%, payout ratio 50%).

Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:BIR - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$6.92 and traded as high as C$7.55. Birchcliff Energy shares last traded at C$6.77, with a volume of 3,114,582 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BIR. Haywood Securities upped their target price on Birchcliff Energy from C$8.00 to C$10.00 in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Birchcliff Energy from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from C$7.50 to C$8.50 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from C$9.50 to C$8.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of C$8.71.

Birchcliff Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.56, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$7.17 and a 200-day moving average price of C$6.92. The firm has a market capitalization of C$1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of -0.07.

Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and natural gas company reported C$0.10 EPS for the quarter. Birchcliff Energy had a return on equity of 2.90% and a net margin of 9.27%.The firm had revenue of C$164.42 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Birchcliff Energy Ltd. will post 0.1118631 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Birchcliff Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Birchcliff Energy's dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

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. To get the full value out of its natural gas wells, several gas plants are completely owned and operated for gas processing purposes.

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