PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Stock Price Up 7.4% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• PBF shares jumped ~7.4% to about $50.03 (intraday high $50.41) on Tuesday, with 2.64M shares trading—about 31% below the stock's average session volume.
• Analysts are mixed but cautious: the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average target of $31.69 (2 Buys, 8 Holds, 5 Sells), though several firms have recently raised price targets while others downgraded the stock.
• PBF beat EPS expectations this quarter ($0.49 vs. -$0.15 estimate) but still shows negative margins and guidance (analysts forecast -$1.12 FY EPS); the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.275 (≈2.2% yield) and insiders sold a sizable amount of stock (about 7.5M shares sold last quarter).

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) shares shot up 7.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $50.41 and last traded at $50.0250. 2,641,960 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 3,821,042 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PBF. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of PBF Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on PBF Energy from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PBF Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on PBF Energy from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on PBF Energy from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $31.69.

PBF Energy Stock Up 7.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of -34.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.31.

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

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. PBF Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -74.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 52,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.18, for a total transaction of $2,609,360.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,944,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,151,374,981.64. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 7,516,600 shares of company stock valued at $304,536,896 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in PBF Energy by 197.7% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in PBF Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in PBF Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,146 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 235.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,299 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PBF Energy Company Profile

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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