Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:BIR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$7.86 and last traded at C$7.48, with a volume of 950861 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$7.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BIR shares. Cormark upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from C$6.00 to C$7.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. CIBC upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from C$7.00 to C$8.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. National Bankshares boosted their price target on shares of Birchcliff Energy from C$8.00 to C$8.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a C$7.50 price target on shares of Birchcliff Energy and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$7.16.

Birchcliff Energy Trading Down 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of C$1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.63, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$6.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$6.00.

Birchcliff Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Birchcliff Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 700.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Birchcliff Energy

In other news, Director Aaron Jeffery Tonken sold 119,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$7.39, for a total transaction of C$884,583.00. Also, Senior Officer Robyn Bourgeois sold 26,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$7.04, for a total transaction of C$188,672.00. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,100 shares of company stock worth $1,077,277. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Birchcliff Energy Company Profile

Birchcliff Energy Ltd is an intermediate oil and gas company that explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, light oil, and natural gas liquids. The company conducts its drilling program in resource plays located in the Peace River Arch region of Alberta. Birchcliff focuses on operating nearly all its high working production, which is surrounded by blocks of high working interest lands where it owns and/or controls the infrastructure.