Investors Buy Large Volume of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Call Options (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 61,765 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 48% compared to the average daily volume of 41,670 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PBR. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.98.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PBR. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,702,467 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $34,213,000 after acquiring an additional 467,737 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,808,705 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $238,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,772,595 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the third quarter valued at $1,342,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 23.8% in the second quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 298,508 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 57,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North of South Capital LLP increased its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 150.9% in the third quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 285,373 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after purchasing an additional 171,649 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock opened at $15.26 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.63. The company has a market capitalization of $98.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.49. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a fifty-two week low of $11.03 and a fifty-two week high of $16.02.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

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

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

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.