Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$6.35 and last traded at C$6.22, with a volume of 13124689 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$6.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BTE shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.25 to C$5.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. National Bank Financial increased their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.75 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$5.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$5.54.

Baytex Energy Trading Up 2.3%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is C$5.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$4.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 3.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.94. The company has a market cap of C$4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.94.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported C($1.11) EPS for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 16.25% and a negative net margin of 40.77%. Research analysts expect that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.3703367 earnings per share for the current year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is currently -11.54%.

Insider Activity at Baytex Energy

In other Baytex Energy news, insider Chad Lundberg bought 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$6.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$67,650.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 613,401 shares in the company, valued at C$3,772,416.15. This represents a 1.83% increase in their position. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

About Baytex Energy

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.