PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded PBF Energy to “buy” from “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that still leans cautious overall. MarketBeat says the stock’s consensus rating remains “Reduce” with an average price target of $42.23.
• PBF shares were trading near their 52-week high, opening at $65.99 and up about 3.4% on the day. The company’s market cap is about $7.81 billion, with shares ranging from a 52-week low of $21.24 to a high of $66.05.
• Recent earnings showed higher revenue but weaker profit: PBF reported EPS of -$0.88, missing estimates, while revenue rose 11.9% year over year to $7.90 billion. The company also saw notable insider selling, including a 570,000-share sale by Control Empresarial De Capital.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on PBF Energy from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $39.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore started coverage on PBF Energy in a research note on Friday, July 17th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $42.23.

PBF Energy Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of PBF opened at $65.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.11. PBF Energy has a 1-year low of $21.24 and a 1-year high of $66.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business's 50-day moving average price is $45.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.00.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.79) by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.32 billion. PBF Energy had a net margin of 1.46% and a negative return on equity of 4.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($3.53) earnings per share. Analysts expect that PBF Energy will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $26,425,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,142,128 shares in the company, valued at $794,709,054.08. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 3,541,570 shares of company stock worth $165,787,386 over the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PBF Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 63.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,932 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,025 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in PBF Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 59,723 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,140,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 261,704 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,996,000 after purchasing an additional 12,289 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in PBF Energy by 261.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,354 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in PBF Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,143,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

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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