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

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 47,386 call options on the company. This is an increase of 72% compared to the typical volume of 27,553 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PBR shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PBR. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,234,730 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $27,956,000 after purchasing an additional 143,767 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 564,661 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,065,000 after buying an additional 43,750 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 298,508 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 57,437 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 2nd quarter worth about $148,086,000. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 179.8% in the 2nd 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.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

NYSE:PBR traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.83. The stock had a trading volume of 3,650,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,220,764. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $12.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.42. The stock has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.53. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $14.98.

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

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is 24.54%.

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.