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

Key Points

• Analysts give Petrobras a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy (three buys, three holds) with an average 1‑year target of about $14.97, and UBS and Goldman Sachs recently raised targets to $14.60 and $15 while keeping buy ratings.
• Several large institutions have increased exposure in Q4—Wellington Management added ~267,859 shares (+40.1%) and firms including Fearnley, Larch and SummitTX also initiated or meaningfully boosted positions.
• Petrobras has a market cap of $122.35 billion and a low trailing P/E of 6.25, and it declared a special dividend of $0.1191 per share payable May 28 (record date Apr 24).

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.9667.

PBR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th.

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

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBR. Fearnley Asset Management AS bought a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at $17,590,000. Larch Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 4th quarter worth about $7,714,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,079 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 935,559 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $11,086,000 after purchasing an additional 267,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 64,220 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 49,637 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

PBR stock opened at $18.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $122.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.51. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $19.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $14.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.23.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 24th will be issued a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

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.

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