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

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday. The company traded as high as C$7.76 and last traded at C$7.74, with a volume of 3,958,834 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$7.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BTE. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$8.00 to C$8.50 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on Baytex Energy from C$8.50 to C$9.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$7.15.

Baytex Energy Stock Up 3.9%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is C$6.78 and its 200 day moving average price is C$6.41. The stock has a market cap of C$5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$564.88 million during the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 131.38% and a negative return on equity of 26.41%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.0225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is -7.34%.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is a Calgary -based energy company committed to driving shareholder value through disciplined execution. It operates a high-quality, high-return portfolio in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, featuring the Pembina Duvernay and heavy oil plays in Alberta and Saskatchewan. These core assets are backed by an extensive drilling inventory and consistently generate strong cash flow.