Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 177,046 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 180% compared to the typical volume of 63,276 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PBR. Bank of America upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $18.70 to $24.80 in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $20.30 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.35.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:PBR traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $21.30. The company had a trading volume of 9,785,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,618,250. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.80. The stock has a market cap of $137.23 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1-year low of $11.03 and a 1-year high of $22.05.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last released its earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 22.01%. Research analysts forecast that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is currently 10.53%.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 273.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, BNP Paribas grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 241.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 4,240 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Company Profile

Petróleo Brasileiro SA – Petrobras is a Brazilian, state-controlled integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 1953, Petrobras is principally engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and operates across the full value chain from upstream activities through refining, transportation and downstream marketing of petroleum products. The company is a major player in Brazil’s energy sector and is a listed public company with global capital market presence.

Petrobras’s core activities include deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration and production, where it has been a pioneer in developing pre-salt reserves off Brazil’s coast.