Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $16.48 and last traded at $16.4210, with a volume of 4441549 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.98.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Up 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $106.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.79.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

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

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PBR. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted 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 purchasing an additional 467,737 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% in 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 period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the third quarter worth $1,342,000. North of South Capital LLP boosted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 150.9% during 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 buying an additional 171,649 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.4% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,994,268 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $25,247,000 after buying an additional 137,370 shares in the last quarter.

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.