A Member of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle recently asked for his advice on a Canadian-based oil and gas producer with a diversified portfolio spanning the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and the Eagle Ford in Texas.
Pat likes the firm’s strong operational footprint across premium North American oil plays, strong cash flow generation and a clear commitment to shareholder value through dividends.
Baytex Energy Corp. (Symbol BTE on Toronto; www.baytexenergy.com) explores for, develops and produces oil and gas in Western Canada and the Eagle Ford region of Texas.
The company’s output is 16% natural gas and 84% oil.
In June 2023, Baytex completed its acquisition of Ranger Oil Corp. (symbol ROCC on Nasdaq) for $3.4 billion. Baytex paid $13.31 U.S. in cash and issued 7.49 Baytex shares for each Ranger share.
Baytex began to pay dividends after acquiring Ranger, with those quarterly payments starting at $0.0225 a share. The stock currently yields 3.5%.
In the quarter ended March 31, 2025, the company’s production fell 4.3%, to 144,194 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 150,620 barrels a year earlier.
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Cash flow rose 9.4% on higher realized oil and gas prices, to $463.9 million from $423.8 million. Cash flow per share rose 15.4%, to $0.60 from $0.52, due to fewer shares outstanding.
Baytex shares are very cheap in relation to cash flow
The addition of Ranger Oil has worked out well for Baytex. It operates exclusively in the Eagle Ford region of Texas, which boosts Baytex’s current presence in the area. The Eagle Ford shale basin now represents around 60% of Baytex’s total production.
Like all energy producers, the company will need oil and gas prices to move higher for it to keep reporting rising cash flow. But the company is well positioned to capitalize when prices do climb.
Today, the shares trade at just 1.2 times forecast 2025 cash flow per share of $2.21. That makes them very cheap for investors looking to profit from a continued energy rebound.
Recommendation in Pat’s Inner Circle: Baytex Energy is a buy for aggressive investors who can accept some risk.