| 10:11 AM EDT, 07/28/2022 (MT Newswires) -- National Bank of Canada said on Thursday Baytex Energy Corp (BTE.TO) reported second-quarter operating and financial results in line with expectations, including average production of 83,090 barrels of oil equivalent per day and associated cash flow per share of $0.60 versus the consensus of $0.61. The bank noted that the exploration and production company realized 3% sequential growth during the quarter based on a less than 30% payout with support of robust realizations in the face of modest inflationary pressures. It noted that Baytex's corporate guidance remained unchanged and is trending towards the high-end of the range on capital, with its $500 million capital program to be accommodated within the context of a 40% payout at strip to support a 15-20% free cash yield. The company continues to achieve debt targets, the bank said, noting that Baytex crossed the initial $1.2 billion level in Q2 and expects to hit the next target of $0.8 billion by year-end. With this, it plans to accelerate return of capital with about 50% of free cash flow to be returned beginning in 2023, National Bank said. The bank also noted that, while debt was being extinguished, Baytex managed to buy back 2% of its shares outstanding through the quarter at an 8% annualized yield. The bank also said that the Clearwater assets are a "massive value driver" for the company with 14 more wells to be drilled through year-end, as it looks to continue growing the asset over what appears to be 125 prospective sections. The bank maintained its Outperform rating and price target of $10.00 per share. Price: 6.79, Change: +0.02, Percent Change: +0.30 |