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

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$4.75 and last traded at C$4.68, with a volume of 794983 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$4.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. National Bankshares cut their price target on Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$4.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. 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. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from C$4.00 to C$5.25 in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$4.75 to C$5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baytex Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$4.79.

Baytex Energy Trading Up 1.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average of C$4.24 and a 200-day moving average of C$3.43. 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 market cap of C$3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.92.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported C$0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 8.96% and a negative net margin of 10.45%.The company had revenue of C$746.42 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Baytex Energy news, insider Chad Lundberg acquired 11,500 shares of Baytex Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$4.36 per share, with a total value of C$50,140.00. Following the purchase, 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 bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$4.50 per share, for a total transaction of C$90,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 575,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$2,590,371. The trade was 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.