PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• PBF Energy reached a new 52-week high of $83.36 and last traded at $80.68, well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold” with a $59.55 target price, despite UBS raising its target to $84 and maintaining a “Buy” rating.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $6.22 in EPS and $11.68 billion in revenue, while paying a $0.275 quarterly dividend. However, insiders sold nearly 4.93 million shares worth approximately $335 million over the past three months.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday. The company traded as high as $83.36 and last traded at $80.68, with a volume of 235876 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PBF. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $62.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore began coverage on PBF Energy in a report on Friday, July 17th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $58.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on PBF Energy from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on PBF Energy from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded PBF Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PBF Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.55.

PBF Energy Price Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $71.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 0.18.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.15 by $2.07. The company had revenue of $11.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.61 billion. PBF Energy had a net margin of 3.94% and a return on equity of 11.27%. PBF Energy's revenue was up 56.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.03) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PBF Energy Inc. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.2750 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. PBF Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.73%.

Insider Activity

In other PBF Energy news, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 468,139 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $32,554,386.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 793,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,196,470.98. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 490,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $34,917,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,992,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,068,339,041.28. The trade was a 3.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,926,374 shares of company stock worth $335,005,837. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in PBF Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in PBF Energy by 68.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,451 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in PBF Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of PBF Energy by 3,354.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,211 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of PBF Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $143,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PBF Energy Company Profile

PBF Energy Inc is an independent petroleum refiner and supplier of transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks, lubricants, asphalt and other petroleum products. The company sells products under the PBF and Belvieu brands and serves wholesale, commercial and retail customers, as well as other users of refined petroleum products.

PBF Energy owns and operates six refineries in the United States: facilities in California, Delaware, Louisiana, New Jersey and Ohio. Together, these refineries process a range of crude oils and produce gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, petrochemical feedstocks and other refined products.

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