Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 502,831 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 34,715 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $5,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.7% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,211,745 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $255,881,000 after buying an additional 2,592,536 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,808,705 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $238,118,000 after acquiring an additional 7,772,595 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the third quarter valued at about $140,433,000. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,872,441 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $61,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665,873 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 3,295,157 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $41,717,000 after acquiring an additional 33,500 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock opened at $19.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.58. The stock has a market cap of $124.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.51. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $20.28.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.1191 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PBR has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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 research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.20.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

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.