InPlay Oil (TSE:IPO) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• InPlay Oil shares reached a new 52-week high of C$19.00 and last traded at C$18.96, above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus, although National Bank Financial reduced its price target from C$27.50 to C$22.50; the average target is C$18.33.
• The company announced a monthly dividend of C$0.09 per share, representing a 5.7% annualized yield, but reported negative profitability metrics and insiders sold more than 51,000 shares during the past quarter.

InPlay Oil Corp. (TSE:IPO - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The company traded as high as C$19.00 and last traded at C$18.96, with a volume of 32,105 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$18.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, National Bank Financial cut their target price on InPlay Oil from C$27.50 to C$22.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$18.33.

InPlay Oil Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$528.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.47 and a beta of 0.56. The company's fifty day simple moving average is C$17.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$16.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.05.

InPlay Oil (TSE:IPO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported C$0.78 earnings per share for the quarter. InPlay Oil had a negative return on equity of 3.81% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The company had revenue of C$248.23 million during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that InPlay Oil Corp. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current year.

InPlay Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. InPlay Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -240.00%.

Insider Activity at InPlay Oil

In related news, insider Kevin Yakiwchuk sold 22,634 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$18.06, for a total value of C$408,770.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 140,832 shares in the company, valued at C$2,543,425.92. This trade represents a 13.85% decrease in their position. Also, insider Kevin Leonard sold 17,222 shares of InPlay Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.01, for a total transaction of C$310,168.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$740,247.02. This represents a 29.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 51,173 shares of company stock worth $919,362 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 25.31% of the company's stock.

About InPlay Oil

InPlay is a junior oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in Alberta focused on light oil production. The company operates long-lived, low-decline properties with drilling development and enhanced oil recovery potential as well as undeveloped lands with exploration possibilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.