Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as C$5.58 and last traded at C$5.37, with a volume of 3975518 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$5.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities lowered shares of Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a C$5.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Baytex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from C$5.00 to C$4.75 in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$4.79.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of C$4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$4.68 and a 200 day moving average of C$3.97.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is presently 32.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baytex Energy

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

Baytex Energy Company Profile

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.