Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Trading Up 22.1% – Here’s What Happened

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) shares rose 22.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$2.58 and last traded at C$2.54. Approximately 14,022,296 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 195% from the average daily volume of 4,751,239 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$2.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BTE. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$6.00 to C$5.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered Baytex Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$5.41.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$3.17 and a 200 day moving average price of C$3.66. The stock has a market cap of C$2.01 billion, a PE ratio of -5.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38.

Baytex Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.0225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.48%.

Baytex Energy Company Profile

Baytex Energy Corp., an energy company, engages in the acquisition, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford, the United States. The company offers light oil and condensate, heavy oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas.