Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:BIR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$6.84 and last traded at C$6.82, with a volume of 1450725 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$6.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIR has been the topic of several research reports. CIBC upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from C$7.00 to C$8.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. National Bankshares set a C$8.00 price objective on shares of Birchcliff Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cormark raised shares of Birchcliff Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$6.00 to C$7.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Birchcliff Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$7.04.

Birchcliff Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of C$1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.46, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$5.85 and its 200 day moving average is C$5.54.

Birchcliff Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Birchcliff Energy’s payout ratio is presently 700.63%.

Insider Activity at Birchcliff Energy

In related news, Senior Officer Hue Tran sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$6.30, for a total value of C$189,000.00. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

About Birchcliff Energy

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.