PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• PBF shares gapped down premarket after reporting an EPS of ($0.88) versus the ($0.25) consensus (a $0.63 miss), despite revenue rising 11.9% year-over-year to $7.90 billion and beating estimates.
• Insiders sold heavily this quarter — 11,016,825 shares worth $485,483,637 (including large sales by a director and the SVP) — leaving insiders with about 5.50% ownership.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly cautious: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a $35.38 price target amid a mix of Buy/Hold/Sell recommendations.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $43.13, but opened at $39.67. PBF Energy shares last traded at $42.5310, with a volume of 689,929 shares changing hands.

The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.63). PBF Energy had a negative return on equity of 8.86% and a negative net margin of 0.54%.The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($3.53) EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. PBF Energy's payout ratio is -74.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PBF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Tudor Pickering raised shares of PBF Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PBF Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $35.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at PBF Energy

In related news, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 790,716 shares in the company, valued at $40,026,043.92. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Fedena sold 77,085 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 139,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,895,193.60. This represents a 35.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,016,825 shares of company stock worth $485,483,637 in the last quarter. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PBF. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in PBF Energy by 63.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,932 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 12,025 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 4.6% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 2,609 shares during the period. 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 worth $4,996,000 after acquiring an additional 12,289 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 261.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of PBF Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,143,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.29% of the company's stock.

PBF Energy Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.48, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $42.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.85.

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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