Lesa Sroufe & Co Invests $4.90 Million in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Lesa Sroufe & Co bought a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 341,712 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,000. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras makes up approximately 4.9% of Lesa Sroufe & Co's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truffle Hound Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,572,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 342,752 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $4,408,000 after purchasing an additional 72,930 shares in the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co increased its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 216,399 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 81,867 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 22.1% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 520,911 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $7,470,000 after purchasing an additional 94,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 278,369 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $3,580,000 after buying an additional 68,363 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.30 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. HSBC upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.47.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

PBR traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $13.08. 26,245,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,927,681. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $15.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.77 and a 200-day moving average of $12.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.84.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.2806 dividend. This represents a yield of 17.6%. This is a positive change from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's previous -- dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.88%.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily for supplies to the domestic refineries.