Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $4.24 Million in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 204,211 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,237,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 273.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, BNP Paribas raised its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 241.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 4,240 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.28.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

PBR stock opened at $16.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $105.98 billion, a PE ratio of 5.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.91. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a one year low of $11.43 and a one year high of $22.24.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 21.67% and a return on equity of 23.65%. The business had revenue of $23.54 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.1426 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is 11.04%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras 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.