Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 46,605 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 32% compared to the typical volume of 35,235 call options.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

NYSE:PBR opened at $15.03 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $96.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.51. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12 month low of $11.03 and a 12 month high of $15.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.39.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 23.32%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.0658 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is currently 21.30%.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBR. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 3rd quarter worth about $140,433,000. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,808,705 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $238,118,000 after acquiring an additional 7,772,595 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the third quarter worth about $35,144,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.7% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,211,745 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $255,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 52.0% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,872,441 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $61,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665,873 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.97.

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.