Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from six firms (three holds, two buys, one strong buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $16.20.
• The stock recently opened at $20.82 (12‑month range $11.03–$21.40) and trades at a low P/E of 6.85
• Petrobras announced a special dividend of $0.1191 per share payable May 28 (record/ex‑dividend date April 24), with a reported dividend payout ratio of 11.51%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

PBR opened at $20.82 on Tuesday. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $21.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $17.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.13. The company has a market capitalization of $134.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.37.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 22.01%.The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.1191 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 273.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, BNP Paribas grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 241.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 4,240 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA – Petrobras is a Brazilian, state-controlled integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 1953, Petrobras is principally engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and operates across the full value chain from upstream activities through refining, transportation and downstream marketing of petroleum products. The company is a major player in Brazil's energy sector and is a listed public company with global capital market presence.

Petrobras's core activities include deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration and production, where it has been a pioneer in developing pre-salt reserves off Brazil's coast.

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.