Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Cut to “Hold” at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has C$4.75 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of C$5.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BTE. Raymond James Financial upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. National Bankshares lowered their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$4.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Baytex Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baytex Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$4.79.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

TSE:BTE opened at C$4.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. Baytex Energy has a 1 year low of C$1.91 and a 1 year high of C$4.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$4.46 and a 200-day moving average of C$3.65.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported C$0.04 EPS for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 8.96% and a negative net margin of 10.45%.The business had revenue of C$746.42 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark Bly bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$4.50 per share, with a total value of C$90,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 575,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$2,590,371. This represents a 3.60% increase in their position. Also, insider Chad Lundberg bought 11,500 shares of Baytex Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$4.36 per share, for a total transaction of C$50,140.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 532,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,323,012.36. The trade was a 2.21% increase in their position. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

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.