Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Upgraded at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras from "neutral" to "buy" and raised its price target to $24.80, implying roughly a 15.8% upside from the stock's current level.
• Analyst views are mixed but the stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $18.35; recent moves included upgrades from UBS and Goldman Sachs, a strong-buy from Zacks, and a cut to hold from Jefferies.
• Key fundamentals: market capitalization of about $138.0B, P/E of 7.04, most recent quarterly EPS of $0.45 with a 22.01% net margin and quarterly revenue of $23.61 billion; 12-month trading range is $11.03–$22.05.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $24.80 target price on the oil and gas exploration company's stock, up from their prior target price of $18.70. Bank of America's target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.81% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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 note on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $20.30 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.35.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

PBR stock opened at $21.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $138.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.37. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.03 and a twelve month high of $22.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

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

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

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

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