Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) by 17.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,028 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 31,699 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBR. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 273.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the first quarter valued at $51,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $18.70 to $24.80 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.28.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

Shares of PBR stock opened at $17.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52 week low of $11.43 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.26 billion, a PE ratio of 4.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.32.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 24.52% and a return on equity of 30.61%. The business had revenue of $23.54 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $0.2649 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.59%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Profile

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.