PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) Short Interest Update

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 21,889,010 shares, a growth of 16.1% from the February 12th total of 18,855,072 shares. Currently, 20.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,668,846 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,668,846 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.2 days. Currently, 20.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $8,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 790,716 shares in the company, valued at $31,683,990.12. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul T. Davis sold 50,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total value of $2,240,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 183,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,217,484.80. This trade represents a 21.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,717,979 shares of company stock worth $222,327,012 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in PBF Energy by 197.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in PBF Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in PBF Energy by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PBF Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 235.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,299 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PBF Energy Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE PBF traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.21. 666,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,658,425. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of -30.11, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.21. PBF Energy has a 1-year low of $13.61 and a 1-year high of $47.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.64.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.64. The company had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. PBF Energy had a negative return on equity of 8.86% and a negative net margin of 0.54%.PBF Energy’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.82) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that PBF Energy will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. PBF Energy’s payout ratio is currently -74.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of PBF Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of PBF Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on PBF Energy from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised PBF Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $31.15.

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.