Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $21.54 and last traded at $21.4850, with a volume of 23108517 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PBR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Zacks Research upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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 report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.20.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.27. The firm has a market cap of $138.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 24.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders 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 is presently 11.51%.

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

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 19,365 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the period. Fearnley Asset Management AS purchased a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter worth $17,590,000. Larch Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at $7,714,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,079 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 935,559 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $11,086,000 after purchasing an additional 267,859 shares during the period.

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.