Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Call Options (NYSE:PBR)

Key Points

• Traders purchased 80,491 call options on NYSE:PBR on Monday, a 47% increase versus typical call volume, indicating unusually large bullish options activity.
• Analysts show two Buy and four Hold ratings, producing a consensus "Hold" and an average price target of $16.20.
• Petrobras declared a special dividend of $0.1191 per share, payable May 28 to holders of record on April 24 (ex-dividend April 24).

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 80,491 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 54,614 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.20.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBR opened at $18.78 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $15.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $121.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.51. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1-year low of $11.03 and a 1-year high of $20.28.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,974 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,671,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 32,726 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC now owns 132,914 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 15,322 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 3.1% in the second quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 33,045 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Company Profile

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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