Whitecap Resources (TSE:WCP) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• 52-week high: Whitecap Resources shares reached a new 52-week high of C$16.04 and last traded at C$16.02 (previous close C$15.66) on volume of about 7.29 million shares.
• Analyst upgrades: Several brokerages raised ratings and price targets—Scotiabank moved to "strong-buy" and RBC raised its target to C$17 ("outperform")—leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Buy with an average target of C$15.50.
• Fundamentals & dividend: The company reported Q EPS of C$0.26 on C$1.51B revenue, has a market cap of C$19.45B, and declared a monthly dividend of C$0.0608 (annualized yield ~4.6%, payout ratio 73.7%).

Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSE:WCP - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$16.04 and last traded at C$16.02, with a volume of 7293311 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$15.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WCP. Scotiabank raised shares of Whitecap Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$13.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$13.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$16.00 to C$17.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$14.00 to C$15.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Whitecap Resources has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$15.50.

Whitecap Resources Stock Up 2.3%

The firm has a market cap of C$19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 40.03, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company's 50-day simple moving average is C$14.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$12.52.

Whitecap Resources (TSE:WCP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported C$0.26 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$1.51 billion during the quarter. Whitecap Resources had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 10.14%. On average, analysts predict that Whitecap Resources Inc. will post 1.1226131 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whitecap Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.0608 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Whitecap Resources's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Whitecap Resources news, Director Grant Bradley Fagerheim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$13.76, for a total transaction of C$68,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,278,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$45,106,642.24. This represents a 0.15% decrease in their position. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,100 shares of company stock worth $83,826. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

About Whitecap Resources

Whitecap Resources Inc is a leading Canadian energy company committed to delivering reliable returns to shareholders through the responsible development of oil and natural gas assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. With a strong track record of profitable growth and a sustainable dividend, Whitecap delivers long-term value to investors, supported by investment-grade financial strength.

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