Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 171,050 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 334% compared to the typical daily volume of 39,410 put options.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Down 1.3%

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock opened at $15.32 on Friday. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.03 and a twelve month high of $15.94. 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 cap of $98.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.46.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

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

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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 55.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,852 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 11,680 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,631 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the second quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 33,213 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 15,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 179.8% during the second quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 235,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 151,000 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 14th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.