Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.64, but opened at $4.39. Baytex Energy shares last traded at $4.3420, with a volume of 2,672,930 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BTE. Weiss Ratings upgraded Baytex Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Monday, May 11th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Baytex Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Baytex Energy in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baytex Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.24 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.95.

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) (TSE:BTE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $325.64 million during 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%. Analysts predict that Baytex Energy Corp will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baytex Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is currently -8.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baytex Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Baytex Energy during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Baytex Energy during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baytex Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baytex Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Baytex Energy by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 13,490 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 6,691 shares during the period. 46.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.