Baytex Energy (TSE:BTE) Trading Down 13% Following Analyst Downgrade

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank upgraded Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets downgraded Baytex Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baytex Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$5.33.

Baytex Energy Stock Performance

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

Baytex Energy Cuts Dividend

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