PBF Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:PBF)

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 3,462 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 121% compared to the typical volume of 1,568 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PBF. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Tudor Pickering lowered shares of PBF Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded PBF Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PBF Energy currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $29.38.

PBF Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:PBF opened at $26.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.34. PBF Energy has a 1-year low of $13.61 and a 1-year high of $41.47.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.17. PBF Energy had a negative net margin of 1.78% and a negative return on equity of 15.88%. The business had revenue of $7.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.50) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PBF Energy will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -23.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Trecia M. Canty sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.44, for a total value of $1,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 200,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,315,111.36. This trade represents a 19.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 250,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.51, for a total value of $8,627,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 790,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,287,609.16. The trade was a 24.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 429,624 shares of company stock worth $15,534,465. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PBF. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 119,365 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 25,616 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in PBF Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,843,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PBF Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $448,000. VR Advisory Services Ltd lifted its stake in PBF Energy by 241.9% during the first quarter. VR Advisory Services Ltd now owns 170,945 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,263,000 after purchasing an additional 120,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of PBF Energy during the first quarter worth $192,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PBF Energy

PBF Energy, Inc is an independent petroleum refiner organized in 2008 and headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2012 under the ticker symbol PBF. Since its formation, PBF Energy has grown through acquisitions and operational optimization, positioning itself as a leading supplier of refined petroleum products in the United States.

The company owns and operates five refineries located along the U.S. Gulf Coast, East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest, with a combined crude oil processing capacity of approximately 900,000 barrels per day.