Peyto Exploration & Development (TSE:PEY) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (TSE:PEY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$23.83 and last traded at C$23.72, with a volume of 276554 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$23.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PEY. CIBC upgraded shares of Peyto Exploration & Development from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from C$21.00 to C$25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Peyto Exploration & Development from C$20.00 to C$21.50 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Cibc Captl Mkts raised Peyto Exploration & Development from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Desjardins upgraded Peyto Exploration & Development from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$23.50 to C$24.50 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on Peyto Exploration & Development from C$23.00 to C$25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$22.89.

Peyto Exploration & Development Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is C$22.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$20.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.96, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of -0.46 and a beta of -0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peyto Exploration & Development

In other news, insider Todd Burdick sold 52,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$22.21, for a total value of C$1,154,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 208,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,624,255.26. This trade represents a 19.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Derick Nathan Czember sold 25,000 shares of Peyto Exploration & Development stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$21.50, for a total transaction of C$537,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,014,485.50. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 337,400 shares of company stock worth $7,383,580 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

About Peyto Exploration & Development

Peyto Exploration & Development Corp (Peyto Exploration & Development) is an oil and gas company that involves in the exploration and development of natural gas. The company acquires, explores, develops and produces crude oil and unconventional natural gas reserves.