Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Shares Down 13% After Analyst Downgrade

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE)’s stock price traded down 13% on Friday after CIBC lowered their price target on the stock from C$5.00 to C$4.25. The company traded as low as C$2.16 and last traded at C$2.21. 10,479,806 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 117% from the average session volume of 4,833,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$2.54.

Several other research firms have also commented on BTE. TD Securities lowered their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upgraded Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Baytex Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$5.33.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$3.08 and a 200 day moving average price of C$3.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. The firm has a market capitalization of C$1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 2.61.

Baytex Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Baytex Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.48%.

About Baytex Energy

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.