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

Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) shares fell 13% on Thursday 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 traded hands 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 analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upgraded Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. TD Securities reduced their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Atb Cap Markets cut Baytex Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Baytex Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$5.33.

Baytex Energy Trading Down 13.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38. The firm has a market capitalization of C$1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.03, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 2.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$3.11 and a 200-day moving average of C$3.64.

Baytex Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.0225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is -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.