Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) Stock Rating Raised to “Strong-Buy” at TD Securities

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) was upgraded by stock analysts at TD Securities from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BTE. Wall Street Zen raised Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Baytex Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BTE stock opened at $4.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.42. Baytex Energy has a 52-week low of $2.36 and a 52-week high of $5.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.79.

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $426.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.71 million. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 26.43% and a negative return on equity of 7.77%. Research analysts predict that Baytex Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Baytex Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Baytex Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $197,114,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Baytex Energy by 816.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,003,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $98,381,000 after acquiring an additional 19,601,808 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Baytex Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,071,614 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $89,695,000 after buying an additional 6,123,098 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new position in Baytex Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,000,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Baytex Energy during the second quarter valued at $51,086,024. 46.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is a Canadian oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops and produces crude oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

Baytex’s operations are focused on the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta and Saskatchewan and the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas. Its portfolio includes light oil, heavy oil and natural gas assets, with production sold into North American energy markets.

Founded in 1993, Baytex became a publicly traded corporation in 2010 after operating as an income trust.