Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Upgraded by National Bank Financial to Strong-Buy Rating

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on BIR. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Birchcliff Energy from C$5.75 to C$6.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Birchcliff Energy from C$5.50 to C$5.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Birchcliff Energy from C$6.00 to C$5.75 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, National Bankshares lowered their target price on shares of Birchcliff Energy from C$6.50 to C$6.00 in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$6.25.

Birchcliff Energy Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of Birchcliff Energy stock opened at C$6.08 on Wednesday. Birchcliff Energy has a 1 year low of C$4.53 and a 1 year high of C$6.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.26, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of C$1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is C$5.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$5.61.

Birchcliff Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. Birchcliff Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Birchcliff Energy news, Senior Officer Hue Tran sold 31,400 shares of Birchcliff Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$5.02, for a total transaction of C$157,628.00. Also, Director Aaron Jeffery Tonken sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$5.53, for a total value of C$1,106,000.00. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,488. Company insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

About Birchcliff Energy

Birchcliff Energy Ltd is an intermediate oil and gas company that explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, light oil, and natural gas liquids. The company conducts its drilling program in resource plays located in the Peace River Arch region of Alberta. Birchcliff focuses on operating nearly all its high working production, which is surrounded by blocks of high working interest lands where it owns and/or controls the infrastructure.