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

Shares of Baytex Energy Corp. (TSE:BTE) (NYSE:BTE) traded down 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 changed 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.

BTE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Baytex Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised shares of Baytex Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Baytex Energy from C$5.00 to C$4.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on Baytex Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$5.33.

Baytex Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 57.38, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$3.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$3.62. The company has a market cap of C$1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 2.61.

Baytex Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.0225 per share. This represents a $0.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Baytex Energy’s payout ratio is currently -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.