Short Interest in PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) Decreases By 15.7%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 15.7% to 12,894,237 shares as of March 31, equal to about 11.7% of the stock and a short-interest ratio of 3.0 days.
• Shares plunged 12.6% to $37.27 on heavy volume (6.06M shares vs. ~3.43M average) despite PBF reporting quarterly EPS of $0.49 (vs. -$0.15 est.); the company still shows a negative net margin and negative ROE.
• Insider selling has been sizable (11.1M shares sold over the last 90 days) and analysts' consensus is a "Reduce" rating with an average price target of $33.54.

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,894,237 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the March 15th total of 15,290,981 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,278,106 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 11.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

PBF Energy Trading Down 12.6%

Shares of NYSE PBF traded down $5.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.27. 6,064,160 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,431,473. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.25. PBF Energy has a 52-week low of $14.54 and a 52-week high of $52.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.20.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.64. The business had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. PBF Energy had a negative net margin of 0.54% and a negative return on equity of 8.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.82) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that PBF Energy will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. PBF Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -74.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PBF Energy

In related news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 70,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.10, for a total value of $3,297,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,253,698 shares in the company, valued at $906,849,175.80. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 790,716 shares in the company, valued at $40,026,043.92. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,100,825 shares of company stock valued at $488,323,877 over the last 90 days. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PBF Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBF. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in PBF Energy by 14.5% in the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,494 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in PBF Energy by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 99,241 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,726,000 after buying an additional 19,312 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in PBF Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $223,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in PBF Energy by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 67,674 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 30,430 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in PBF Energy by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,309 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PBF shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PBF Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on PBF Energy from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $33.54.

About PBF Energy

PBF Energy, Inc is an independent petroleum refiner organized in 2008 and headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2012 under the ticker symbol PBF. Since its formation, PBF Energy has grown through acquisitions and operational optimization, positioning itself as a leading supplier of refined petroleum products in the United States.

The company owns and operates five refineries located along the U.S. Gulf Coast, East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest, with a combined crude oil processing capacity of approximately 900,000 barrels per day.

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