Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PBR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.97.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of PBR stock opened at $12.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.36. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52-week low of $11.03 and a 52-week high of $14.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.51.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 16.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a $0.0658 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PBR. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas lifted its position 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 buying 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.