Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) Upgraded to “Outperform” at National Bankshares

Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) was upgraded by equities researchers at National Bankshares from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a C$8.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock, up from their prior target price of C$6.00. National Bankshares’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 34.00% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Birchcliff Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Birchcliff Energy from C$5.75 to C$6.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Birchcliff Energy from C$6.00 to C$5.75 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Securities raised shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from C$5.50 to C$7.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Birchcliff Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$6.82.

Birchcliff Energy Stock Performance

BIR stock traded up C$0.12 on Thursday, reaching C$5.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 95,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,103,588. Birchcliff Energy has a 52 week low of C$4.53 and a 52 week high of C$6.54. The company has a market capitalization of C$1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$5.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$5.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.26, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Birchcliff Energy

In other news, Director Aaron Jeffery Tonken sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. Also, Senior Officer Hue Tran sold 28,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$5.10, for a total transaction of C$145,860.00. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,409,488. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.