Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as C$7.76 and last traded at C$7.74, with a volume of 3,958,834 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$7.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BTE. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$8.00 to C$8.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. National Bank Financial upped their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$8.50 to C$9.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$7.15.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is C$6.81 and its 200-day moving average price is C$6.42. The stock has a market cap of C$5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.60.

Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.24 EPS for the quarter. Baytex Energy had a negative return on equity of 26.41% and a negative net margin of 131.38%. The firm had revenue of C$564.88 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Baytex Energy Corp. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were issued a $0.0225 dividend. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -7.34%.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp. is a Calgary -based energy company committed to driving shareholder value through disciplined execution. It operates a high-quality, high-return portfolio in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, featuring the Pembina Duvernay and heavy oil plays in Alberta and Saskatchewan. These core assets are backed by an extensive drilling inventory and consistently generate strong cash flow.