Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Trading Down 9.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) fell 9.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Raymond James lowered their price target on the stock from C$5.00 to C$4.00. The stock traded as low as C$2.31 and last traded at C$2.31. 1,467,030 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 4,685,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$2.54.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$6.00 to C$5.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Baytex Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$5.41.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$3.13 and its 200-day moving average is C$3.65. The firm has a market capitalization of C$1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.26, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38.

Baytex Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. 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.