Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest rose 16.0% in April to 56,947,128 shares (about 0.9% of shares outstanding), leaving a short-interest ratio of 1.9 days based on average daily volume.
• The company declared a special dividend of $0.1191 per share, with an ex‑dividend/record date of April 24 and a payment date of May 28.
• Petrobras has a market cap of $142.07B and a P/E of 7.25; it reported $0.45 EPS last quarter, analysts forecast FY EPS of 4.18, and consensus ratings are a Moderate Buy with a $18.35 target price.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 56,947,128 shares, a growth of 16.0% from the March 31st total of 49,078,199 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 30,631,025 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBR opened at $22.05 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12 month low of $11.03 and a 12 month high of $22.09.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 22.01%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.1191 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's payout ratio is 10.86%.

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

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 55.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,852 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,631 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 55.9% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 15,683 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 797.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,792 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 16,699 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 53,897 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 13,988 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PBR. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.35.

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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