Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has received an average consensus rating of "Buy" from eight brokerage firms, with an average 1-year price target of $17.40.
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.2806 per share, which reflects an increase from its previous dividend and represents a 17.6% yield.
• Institutional investors have increased their stakes in Petrobras, with GQG Partners growing its position by 8.0% during the first quarter, now holding over 256 million shares.

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.40.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.30 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 12,500 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $162,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 39,667 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 91,382 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 9,436 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

PBR stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $12.70. 18,778,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,019,370. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.03 and a twelve month high of $15.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.85.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.2806 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a yield of 1,760.0%. This is an increase from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's previous -- dividend of $0.24. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.88%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Company Profile

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.