Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Cut to “Hold” at TD Securities

TD Securities downgraded shares of Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has C$5.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Capital One Financial upgraded shares of Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$3.00 to C$6.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$4.00 to C$5.25 in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Baytex Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$4.75.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 1.7%

TSE:BTE opened at C$4.61 on Friday. Baytex Energy has a 52-week low of C$1.91 and a 52-week high of C$4.81. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$4.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$3.53. The company has a market capitalization of C$3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last posted 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 firm had revenue of C$746.42 million during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Baytex Energy will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is presently 32.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.