PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Key Points

• Control Empresarial De Capital sold large stakes — 600,000 shares on Mar 17, 1,100,000 on Mar 18 and 52,000 on Mar 19 — and the stock gapped down from a $49.32 close to a $46.63 open, last trading near $46.28.
• Analyst sentiment is weak overall, with an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $31.69 (2 Buy, 8 Hold, 5 Sell), while individual firms have issued mixed upgrades and downgrades.
• PBF beat quarterly EPS estimates with $0.49 but still posts a negative net margin and ROE, faces a projected -1.12 EPS for the year, and pays a $0.275 quarterly dividend (about a 2.4% yield).

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $49.32, but opened at $46.63. PBF Energy shares last traded at $46.2810, with a volume of 669,839 shares trading hands.

Specifically, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 52,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.18, for a total value of $2,609,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,944,898 shares in the company, valued at $1,151,374,981.64. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 1,100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total transaction of $50,831,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,996,898 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,686,656.58. The trade was a 4.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In other news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 600,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.43, for a total transaction of $26,658,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,096,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,070,625,178.14. This trade represents a 2.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PBF. Wolfe Research downgraded PBF Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research raised PBF Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho raised their price target on PBF Energy from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PBF Energy presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $31.69.

PBF Energy Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. PBF Energy had a negative net margin of 0.54% and a negative return on equity of 8.86%. The company's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($2.82) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that PBF Energy Inc. will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. PBF Energy's payout ratio is -74.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of PBF Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,207,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 547,546 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $16,519,000 after purchasing an additional 40,129 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in PBF Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,843,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in PBF Energy by 1,232.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 267,091 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,058,000 after purchasing an additional 247,039 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in PBF Energy by 264.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 96,856 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 70,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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