PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• PBF Energy hit a new 52-week high after Mizuho raised its price target from $48 to $57, though the firm kept a neutral rating. The stock briefly reached $61.02 in trading.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed overall, with several recent target-price increases but a broader consensus of Reduce and an average price target of $38.50. Current ratings include more Holds and Sells than Buys.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of -$0.88 per share, missing estimates, even as revenue topped expectations at $7.9 billion and rose 11.9% year over year. PBF also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.275, equal to a 1.8% annualized yield.

Shares of PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $57.00. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the stock. PBF Energy traded as high as $61.02 and last traded at $60.8210, with a volume of 3855819 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.44.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PBF. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of PBF Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PBF Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut PBF Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $38.50.

Insider Activity at PBF Energy

In related news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 570,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.36, for a total transaction of $26,425,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,142,128 shares in the company, valued at $794,709,054.08. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 3,541,570 shares of company stock worth $165,787,386 over the last quarter. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of PBF Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PBF Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PBF Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in PBF Energy by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in PBF Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

PBF Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.73.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.79) by ($0.09). PBF Energy had a net margin of 1.46% and a negative return on equity of 4.12%. The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($3.53) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that PBF Energy Inc. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. PBF Energy's payout ratio is currently 29.65%.

About PBF Energy

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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