Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.07.

PBR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from $19.40 to $18.10 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America upgraded Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $16.80 to $17.90 in a report on Thursday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from $19.30 to $16.70 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras during the 4th quarter valued at about $218,758,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras in the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,174,000. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,337,000. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 3,457.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,919,298 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $44,403,000 after buying an additional 2,837,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its position in shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 10,099,766 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $144,124,000 after buying an additional 1,889,313 shares during the period.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Stock Performance

NYSE PBR opened at $14.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.68 and a 200 day moving average of $15.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $17.91.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $23.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.22 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras’s previous Variable dividend of $0.03. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.00%.

About Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA – Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. It also engages in prospecting, drilling, refining, processing, trading, and transporting crude oil from producing onshore and offshore oil fields, and shale or other rocks, as well as oil products, natural gas, and other liquid hydrocarbons.