Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Baytex Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

BTE opened at $5.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of -7.92 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.57. Baytex Energy has a 1 year low of $2.18 and a 1 year high of $5.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $449.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.10 million. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 26.43% and a negative return on equity of 7.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that Baytex Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Baytex Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTE. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Baytex Energy by 21.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,038 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Baytex Energy by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,120 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 5,060 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Baytex Energy by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 30,784 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 11,229 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 113,648 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 12,540 shares during the period. Finally, Capula Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Baytex Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.15% of the company’s stock.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTE) is a Canadian oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company’s operations are focused on the development and production of crude oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

Baytex’s asset base is concentrated in Western Canada, including the Clearwater and Viking oil plays in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and in the Eagle Ford shale region of South Texas. The company sells its production into North American markets through established pipeline, processing and transportation infrastructure.

Baytex traces its history to the Canadian energy sector in the 1990s and has expanded through a combination of exploration, development and acquisitions.