Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Trading Down 13.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) fell 13.4% on Thursday after CIBC lowered their price target on the stock from C$5.00 to C$4.25. The stock traded as low as C$2.16 and last traded at C$2.20. 8,077,036 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 69% from the average session volume of 4,780,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$2.54.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on BTE. TD Securities lowered their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank raised Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$5.33.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 13.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of C$3.13 and a 200 day moving average of C$3.65. The firm has a market cap of C$1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 2.61. 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 Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.0225 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is -20.48%.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp., an energy company, engages in the acquisition, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford, the United States. The company offers light oil and condensate, heavy oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas.