ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

ARC Resources Ltd. (TSE:ARX) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is C$31.88.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARX. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on ARC Resources from C$27.00 to C$29.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on ARC Resources from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of ARC Resources from C$30.00 to C$32.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of ARC Resources from C$30.00 to C$31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on shares of ARC Resources from C$34.00 to C$35.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

ARC Resources Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ARX opened at C$26.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$25.92 and a 200-day moving average price of C$24.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 31.49. The firm has a market capitalization of C$15.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.26. ARC Resources has a 12-month low of C$19.58 and a 12-month high of C$28.15.

ARC Resources (TSE:ARX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas exploration company reported C$0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.34 by C$0.21. ARC Resources had a net margin of 22.23% and a return on equity of 15.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ARC Resources will post 2.7255139 earnings per share for the current year.

ARC Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This is a boost from ARC Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. ARC Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ARC Resources news, Senior Officer Sean Ross Allen Calder sold 30,572 shares of ARC Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$27.10, for a total value of C$828,360.57. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About ARC Resources

ARC Resources Ltd. engages in the acquiring and developing crude oil, natural gas, condensate, and natural gas liquids in Canada. It primarily holds interests in the Montney basin located in Alberta and northeast British Columbia. ARC Resources Ltd. was founded in 1996 and is based in Calgary, Canada.