Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 204,211 Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise initiated a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras, buying 204,211 shares worth about $4.24 million in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors also adjusted their PBR holdings, with several large funds increasing stakes; for example, Capital International Investors raised its position by 51.6%.
• Analysts are mixed but broadly positive on Petrobras, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.28; the stock was recently trading down 3.4% at $16.45.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 204,211 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $4,237,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PBR. Capital International Investors increased its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,637,308 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $363,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425,563 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,975,177 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $224,856,000 after purchasing an additional 166,472 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 12,655,094 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $149,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,473 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 5,335,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $63,224,000 after purchasing an additional 462,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 3,313,257 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $39,262,000 after acquiring an additional 18,100 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PBR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Bank of America raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $18.70 to $24.80 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.28.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE:PBR opened at $16.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $105.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.34, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.32. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52 week low of $11.43 and a 52 week high of $22.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.91.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 23.65% and a net margin of 21.67%.The business had revenue of $23.54 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.1426 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.04%.

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.

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