MEG Energy (TSE:MEG) Shares Cross Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

MEG Energy Corp. (TSE:MEG) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$23.82 and traded as high as C$24.09. MEG Energy shares last traded at C$23.02, with a volume of 2,890,990 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MEG shares. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of MEG Energy from C$27.00 to C$28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of MEG Energy from C$33.00 to C$31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Desjardins upgraded MEG Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. ATB Capital cut their price objective on MEG Energy from C$37.00 to C$35.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on shares of MEG Energy from C$35.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$32.00.

MEG Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of C$6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 2.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$23.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$25.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.35.

MEG Energy (TSE:MEG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported C$0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.63 by C($0.01). MEG Energy had a return on equity of 12.99% and a net margin of 10.43%. The firm had revenue of C$1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$1.33 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MEG Energy Corp. will post 2.2734628 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MEG Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. MEG Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MEG Energy news, Director Robert Ross Rooney bought 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$23.06 per share, for a total transaction of C$195,993.00. Also, Director Kimberley Elizabeth Lynch Proctor bought 3,500 shares of MEG Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$25.06 per share, with a total value of C$87,713.85. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 12,805 shares of company stock worth $303,669. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About MEG Energy

MEG Energy Corp., an energy company, focuses on sustainable in situ thermal oil production in its Christina Lake Project in the southern Athabasca oil region of Alberta, Canada. The company develops oil recovery projects that utilize steam-assisted gravity drainage extraction methods to improve the recovery of oil, as well as lower carbon emissions.