Fundamenta Capital S.A. Takes Position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR

Key Points

• Fundamenta Capital S.A. bought 1,355,652 shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR) in Q4 for roughly $16.06 million, representing about 11.0% of its portfolio and making PBR its fifth-largest holding.
• Several large institutions have also increased or initiated positions recently — notably Mondrian bought a new ~$140.4 million stake and ARGA raised its holding by 70.4% to 18.8 million shares — indicating rising institutional buying.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive (average rating "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $18.35 and recent upgrades such as Bank of America to "buy" with a $24.80 target), and Petrobras announced a special dividend of $0.1191 payable May 28 (ex-dividend April 24).

Fundamenta Capital S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,355,652 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $16,064,000. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras comprises about 11.0% of Fundamenta Capital S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PBR. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the third quarter valued at about $140,433,000. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake 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. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the third quarter valued at about $35,144,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,592,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 52.0% during the third 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PBR. Zacks Research raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $18.70 to $24.80 in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.35.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of PBR opened at $20.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $131.66 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.71. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a fifty-two week low of $11.03 and a fifty-two week high of $22.05. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.64.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 24.26%. Analysts anticipate that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be issued a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio is 11.51%.

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.

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