Q: What’s your take on Baytex’s announcement of a sale of their Eagle Ford assets. As a longterm holder currently down 45% I’ve been patiently waiting for a turnaround. It has definitely been moving in the right direction for months and much speculation surrounded the need to divest American assets to be the catalyst for further recovery. Where do you see this stock over the next year or two?
5i Research Answer:
The deal looks good and will put BTE in a net-cash position, which should improve investor confidence. BTE will now be able to focus on its Canadian operations. It will provide guidance when the deal closes. All-in, this very well could be the catalyst to get investors interested in the stock again. Debt has been coming down prior to this sale, but now the company will be in very strong financial shape and 'should' get de-risked as a result.