PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PBF. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of PBF Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of PBF Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PBF Energy has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $45.62.

PBF Energy Stock Performance

PBF opened at $61.74 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.64. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 0.11. PBF Energy has a 1 year low of $21.24 and a 1 year high of $68.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by ($0.09). PBF Energy had a net margin of 1.46% and a negative return on equity of 4.12%. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($3.53) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PBF Energy will post 10.94 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 570,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.36, for a total transaction of $26,425,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 17,142,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $794,709,054.08. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 3,541,570 shares of company stock valued at $165,787,386 over the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PBF Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PBF Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in PBF Energy during the first quarter worth $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in PBF Energy by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of PBF Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about PBF Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting PBF Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PBF was added to multiple Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) lists on July 24, including momentum, value, income, and general strong-buy screens, which can boost trader interest and signal improving analyst sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several Zacks pieces highlighted PBF as a top-ranked growth, value, income, and momentum stock, reinforcing the idea that the name is screening well across multiple investment styles. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PBF was featured in a “Best Momentum Stocks” article and noted as being up strongly over the past week, suggesting short-term buying momentum remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared PBF’s year-to-date performance with peers like Phillips 66, which is mainly a relative-performance check and not a direct catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Another note said PBF does not have the ideal setup for a likely earnings beat ahead of next week’s report, so investors may remain cautious until the company releases results. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published an earnings preview titled “Don’t Get Trapped At The Top”, which suggests some skepticism about upside after the recent run-up. Article Title

About PBF Energy

PBF Energy, Inc is an independent petroleum refiner organized in 2008 and headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2012 under the ticker symbol PBF. Since its formation, PBF Energy has grown through acquisitions and operational optimization, positioning itself as a leading supplier of refined petroleum products in the United States.

The company owns and operates five refineries located along the U.S. Gulf Coast, East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest, with a combined crude oil processing capacity of approximately 900,000 barrels per day.