Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR Stake Lowered by CI Investments Inc.

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. reduced its Petrobras stake by 30.2% in the first quarter, selling 175,822 shares and leaving it with 406,687 shares worth about $8.44 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with five Buy ratings, one Hold, and one Sell; the stock currently carries an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus target price of $19.28.
• Petrobras reported $0.96 EPS on $23.54 billion in revenue for the latest quarter and announced a special dividend of $0.1426 per share, payable August 27.

CI Investments Inc. lowered its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) by 30.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 406,687 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 175,822 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.'s holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $8,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBR. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,637,308 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $363,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425,563 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.9% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 166,472 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.1% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 1,562,473 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $63,224,000 after buying an additional 462,889 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings 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 worth $39,262,000 after buying an additional 18,100 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PBR shares. Zacks Research cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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 report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, 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 company from $18.70 to $24.80 in a report on Friday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.28.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PBR opened at $19.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business's fifty day moving average price is $17.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.69. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52 week low of $11.43 and a 52 week high of $22.24.

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. The company had revenue of $23.54 billion during the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 21.67% and a return on equity of 23.65%. On average, analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.1426 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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