Vident Advisory LLC Lowers Position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Vident Advisory LLC lessened its stake in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,610 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 21,296 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras were worth $792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Tandem Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda boosted its stake in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 6,663 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 156,663 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PBR. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Petróleo 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 note on Thursday, May 15th. HSBC upgraded shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.47.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Stock Performance

Shares of PBR traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $11.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,609,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,423,872. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $15.73. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $12.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.58, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.87.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.2806 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This is a boost from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras's previous -- dividend of $0.24. This represents a dividend yield of 17.6%. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras's dividend payout ratio is 86.57%.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Profile

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.