PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Shares Up 5.8% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• PBF Energy shares jumped 5.8% in midday trading, briefly reaching $51.26, well above the prior close of $48.46. Trading volume was far below average, suggesting the move came on relatively light activity.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: recent calls included neutral, hold, and sell ratings, and MarketBeat shows an overall “Reduce” rating with a consensus price target of $36.69. That implies the stock may be trading above where many analysts think it should be valued.
• The company reported a mixed quarter, with EPS missing estimates but revenue topping forecasts and rising 11.9% year over year. PBF also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, equal to a 2.1% annual yield.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) rose 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $51.26 and last traded at $51.2830. 135,546 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 3,363,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on PBF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of PBF Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of PBF Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on PBF Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PBF Energy currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $36.69.

PBF Energy Stock Up 8.4%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.70. The firm has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.31.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. PBF Energy had a net margin of 1.46% and a negative return on equity of 4.12%. PBF Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($3.53) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PBF Energy Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. PBF Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total value of $9,388,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,662,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $782,120,288.32. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,591,570 shares of company stock worth $116,278,586 in the last three months. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBF. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 127.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,327,255 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $171,595,000 after buying an additional 3,550,820 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,750 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $131,661,000 after acquiring an additional 60,294 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 11.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,366,331 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $207,953,000 after acquiring an additional 454,731 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in PBF Energy by 54.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,222,433 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $153,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,137,533 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in PBF Energy by 147.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,772,258 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $83,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,516 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.