Strathcona Resources (TSE:SCR) Shares Pass Below 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Strathcona Resources Ltd. (TSE:SCR)’s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$27.72 and traded as low as C$27.59. Strathcona Resources shares last traded at C$27.80, with a volume of 13,934 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SCR shares. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Strathcona Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Strathcona Resources from C$30.00 to C$32.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Strathcona Resources from C$35.00 to C$34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Strathcona Resources from C$35.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on shares of Strathcona Resources from C$32.00 to C$29.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$35.50.

Strathcona Resources Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 11.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 56.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$27.72 and its 200-day moving average is C$28.66. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.95 billion and a P/E ratio of 16.03.

Strathcona Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Strathcona Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Strathcona Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Strathcona Resources

In related news, Senior Officer Allan Grabas purchased 8,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$27.47 per share, with a total value of C$241,790.94. Also, Senior Officer Pit Kim Chiu acquired 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$28.05 per share, for a total transaction of C$44,887.04. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 20,450 shares of company stock worth $593,656. 91.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Strathcona Resources

Strathcona Resources Ltd. acquires, explores, develops, and produces petroleum and natural gas reserves in Canada. It operates through three segments: Cold Lake Thermal, Lloydminster Heavy Oil, and Montney. The Cold Lake Thermal segment includes three producing assets in the Cold Lake region of Northern Alberta; and Lindbergh, Orion, and Tucker.