The Goldman Sachs Group Begins Coverage on PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on PBF Energy with a neutral rating and a $49.00 price target, implying roughly a 21.8% upside from the current share price.
• Despite that, the street consensus is pessimistic — the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" with an average price target of $33.54 and analyst mix of 2 Buys, 8 Holds and 5 Sells.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of about 11.47 million shares worth $500.5 million in the past three months, while insiders still own roughly 5.5% of the company.

Stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $49.00 price target on the oil and gas company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.75% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on PBF Energy from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank raised PBF Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Tudor Pickering raised PBF Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on PBF Energy from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $33.54.

PBF Energy Stock Performance

PBF traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.25. 108,621 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,776,250. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.44, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.25. PBF Energy has a 1-year low of $14.35 and a 1-year high of $52.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 50,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.62, for a total value of $2,531,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 790,716 shares in the company, valued at $40,026,043.92. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Paul T. Davis sold 50,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total value of $2,574,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 183,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,442,770.48. This trade represents a 21.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 11,466,825 shares of company stock valued at $500,523,457 in the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,575 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,287 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,666 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 66,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,808,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,617 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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