InPlay Oil (TSE:IPO) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• InPlay Oil shares reached a new 52-week high of C$20.91, up from the prior close of C$20.63, with the company valued at approximately C$567.4 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating, although price targets are mixed: National Bank Financial cut its target to C$22.50, while ATB Cormark raised its target to C$25.00. The consensus target is C$20.00.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.09 per share, equivalent to a 5.3% annualized yield, but reported weak profitability metrics and insiders have sold 51,173 shares worth about $919,362 over the past 90 days.

Shares of InPlay Oil Corp. (TSE:IPO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as C$20.91 and last traded at C$20.91, with a volume of 4,979 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$20.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on InPlay Oil from C$27.50 to C$22.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets boosted their target price on InPlay Oil from C$23.00 to C$25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of C$20.00.

InPlay Oil Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 76.05, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$17.71 and a 200-day moving average price of C$16.29. The firm has a market capitalization of C$567.38 million, a PE ratio of -45.60 and a beta of 0.56.

InPlay Oil (TSE:IPO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported C$0.78 EPS for the quarter. InPlay Oil had a negative return on equity of 3.81% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The business had revenue of C$248.23 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that InPlay Oil Corp. will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

InPlay Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. InPlay Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -240.00%.

Insider Transactions at InPlay Oil

In related news, insider Kevin Leonard sold 17,222 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately C$740,247.02. This represents a 29.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Darren W. Dittmer sold 11,317 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.71, for a total transaction of C$200,424.07. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 194,798 shares in the company, valued at C$3,449,872.58. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 51,173 shares of company stock worth $919,362 over the last ninety days. 25.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

InPlay Oil Company Profile

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.

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