PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Stock Price Up 6% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• PBF stock rose 6% to about $40.02 on Tuesday on below‑average volume, but the Street's consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $33.54.
• PBF beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.49 vs. -$0.15) but still shows negative return on equity and net margin, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.275 (about a 2.7% yield).
• Insiders have been selling heavily — Control Empresarial De Capital sold 1.1 million shares at ~$46.21 and insiders sold 11.1 million shares (≈$488M) in the last 90 days.

Shares of PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) rose 6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $40.24 and last traded at $40.0150. Approximately 1,308,236 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 3,706,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered PBF Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded PBF Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on PBF Energy from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of PBF Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $33.54.

PBF Energy Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.21.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.64. The company had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. PBF Energy had a negative return on equity of 8.86% and a negative net margin of 0.54%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.82) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that PBF Energy Inc. will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. PBF Energy's payout ratio is currently -74.83%.

Insider Transactions at PBF Energy

In other news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 1,100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.21, for a total value of $50,831,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,996,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,686,656.58. This trade represents a 4.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,100,825 shares of company stock worth $488,323,877. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PBF. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in PBF Energy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,575 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PBF Energy by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,287 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,666 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Next Level Private LLC grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 66,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in PBF Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,617 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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