Capital Wealth Planning LLC Purchases 70,355 Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR

Key Points

• Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its Petrobras stake by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 70,355 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 257,372 shares worth about $3.07 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted their positions, including Capital International Investors, ARGA Investment Management, and Mondrian Investment Partners, signaling broad hedge fund interest in PBR.
• Petrobras reported solid recent results, including Q1 earnings of $0.96 per share and a special dividend of $0.1426 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $19.28.

Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 257,372 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,355 shares during the quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC's holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $3,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 10,425,563 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,975,177 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $224,856,000 after acquiring an additional 166,472 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 12,655,094 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $149,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,473 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 52.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

PBR stock opened at $18.11 on Thursday. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $20.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.59. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.43 and a twelve month high of $22.24. The firm has a market cap of $116.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.88, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.96 earnings per share 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. Analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PBR has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $18.70 to $24.80 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.28.

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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