PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are cautious on PBF Energy, with 15 brokerages assigning it an average rating of “Reduce.” The group includes five sell ratings, eight holds, and two buys, and the average 12-month price target is about $36.46.
• Recent earnings were mixed: PBF reported adjusted EPS of -$0.88, missing estimates, though revenue came in at $7.90 billion and topped expectations. Revenue also rose 11.9% year over year.
• Insider selling and heavy institutional ownership stand out. Insiders sold 4.32 million shares over the last 90 days, while hedge funds and other institutions own 96.29% of the stock.

Shares of PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.4615.

PBF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on PBF Energy from $41.00 to $36.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on PBF Energy in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut PBF Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PBF Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on PBF Energy from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Activity at PBF Energy

In other PBF Energy news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 100,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total value of $4,317,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,117,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $782,141,022.66. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James E. Fedena sold 77,085 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total transaction of $3,823,416.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 139,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,895,193.60. The trade was a 35.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,324,225 shares of company stock valued at $209,012,411 over the last ninety days. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in PBF Energy by 127.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,327,255 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $171,595,000 after buying an additional 3,550,820 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 147.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,772,258 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $83,639,000 after buying an additional 1,651,516 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 230.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,085,060 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $45,183,000 after buying an additional 1,454,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PBF Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,243,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 2,198.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,212,368 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,577,000 after buying an additional 1,159,628 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PBF Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of PBF opened at $37.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.54. PBF Energy has a 1-year low of $20.98 and a 1-year high of $52.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 0.12.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.79) by ($0.09). PBF Energy had a negative return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 1.46%.The business had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($3.53) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PBF Energy will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. PBF Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.65%.

PBF Energy Company Profile

PBF Energy, Inc is an independent petroleum refiner organized in 2008 and headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2012 under the ticker symbol PBF. Since its formation, PBF Energy has grown through acquisitions and operational optimization, positioning itself as a leading supplier of refined petroleum products in the United States.

The company owns and operates five refineries located along the U.S. Gulf Coast, East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest, with a combined crude oil processing capacity of approximately 900,000 barrels per day.

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