Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Upgraded to “Buy” at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has C$7.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of C$5.25.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$6.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$6.18.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTE stock opened at C$5.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of C$4.29 billion, a PE ratio of -7.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$5.43 and a 200-day moving average of C$4.55. Baytex Energy has a one year low of C$2.00 and a one year high of C$6.35.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C($1.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 16.25% and a negative net margin of 40.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -11.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baytex Energy

In other Baytex Energy news, insider Nicole Marie Frechette purchased 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$5.84 per share, with a total value of C$49,640.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 73,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$426,471.84. The trade was a 13.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Chadwick Kalmakoff purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$5.73 per share, with a total value of C$85,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 382,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$2,190,756.63. This represents a 4.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. Insiders purchased 49,800 shares of company stock valued at $293,188 over the last quarter. 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.