Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (TSE:BIR) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$5.55 and traded as high as C$5.77. Birchcliff Energy shares last traded at C$5.55, with a volume of 1,519,687 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on BIR. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Birchcliff Energy from C$6.00 to C$5.75 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank raised Birchcliff Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. CIBC raised their target price on Birchcliff Energy from C$5.75 to C$6.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. National Bankshares raised Birchcliff Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from C$6.00 to C$8.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Birchcliff Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$6.71.

Birchcliff Energy Trading Down 4.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 97.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$5.65 and a 200-day moving average price of C$5.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.63.

Birchcliff Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Birchcliff Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 700.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Hue Tran sold 28,600 shares of Birchcliff Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$5.10, for a total value of C$145,860.00. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.