Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$4.75 and last traded at C$4.68, with a volume of 794983 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$4.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Capital One Financial raised shares of Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from C$4.00 to C$5.25 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baytex Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$4.79.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$4.24 and a 200-day moving average of C$3.43. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported C$0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 10.45% and a negative return on equity of 8.96%. The company had revenue of C$746.42 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.0225 dividend. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is presently 32.14%.

Insider Activity at Baytex Energy

In related news, insider Chad Lundberg acquired 11,500 shares of Baytex Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$4.36 per share, for a total transaction of C$50,140.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 532,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,323,012.36. This trade represents a 2.21% increase in their position. Also, Director Mark Bly bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$4.50 per share, for a total transaction of C$90,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 575,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,590,371. This trade represents a 3.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp is an oil and gas company. Geographically, the group operates in Canada and the United States. The company derives a majority of revenue from Canada. Its Canada segment includes the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas in Western Canada.