Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases 168,735 Shares of Baytex Energy Corp $BTE

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) by 236.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 239,986 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 168,735 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Baytex Energy were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Baytex Energy by 10.9% during the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 144,613 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 14,177 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Baytex Energy by 41.5% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 79,136 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 23,222 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Baytex Energy by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,353,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Baytex Energy by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,038 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,652 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.15% of the company’s stock.

Baytex Energy Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:BTE opened at $4.17 on Thursday. Baytex Energy Corp has a 52-week low of $1.93 and a 52-week high of $5.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.96 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.37 and its 200 day moving average is $4.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $325.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.04 million. Baytex Energy had a negative net margin of 24.25% and a negative return on equity of 10.85%. Sell-side analysts predict that Baytex Energy Corp will post 0.26 EPS for the current year.

Baytex Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.0225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -10.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BTE. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baytex Energy has an average rating of “Hold”.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.