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

Key Points

• Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has received an average consensus rating of "Buy" from eight brokerages, indicating positive market sentiment.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.64 per share, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.06.
• Petrobras announced a special dividend of $0.0739 per share, with payment set for December 30th, indicating ongoing shareholder returns.

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.14.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $15.80 to $14.40 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE PBR traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $12.74. The company had a trading volume of 17,689,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,072,324. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average is $12.45 and its 200 day moving average is $12.41. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52-week low of $11.03 and a 52-week high of $15.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $21.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.78 billion. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 34.11%. Sell-side 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.0739 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBR. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 31,499 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 11,061 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 4th quarter worth $185,000. Poehling Capital Management INC. grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 228,299 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 33,916 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Finally, GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 4th quarter worth $281,000.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily for supplies to the domestic refineries.