Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Baytex Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Baytex Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baytex Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTE. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Baytex Energy by 34.3% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 229,181 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 58,522 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Baytex Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $1,251,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Baytex Energy by 49.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 82,925 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 27,353 shares during the period. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Baytex Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $165,000. Finally, Spark Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baytex Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,038,000. 46.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baytex Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of BTE opened at $5.01 on Friday. Baytex Energy has a 52-week low of $2.18 and a 52-week high of $5.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.79, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 0.39.

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 26.43% and a negative return on equity of 7.77%. The firm had revenue of $449.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.10 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Baytex Energy will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is -8.96%.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is a Canadian oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company focuses on the development and production of crude oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas from unconventional and conventional reserves.

Baytex operates primarily in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, including resource plays in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and in the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas. Its Canadian operations provide exposure to heavy oil, light oil and natural gas assets, while its Eagle Ford operations are focused largely on liquids-rich production.

Founded in 1993, Baytex has grown through exploration, development and acquisitions.