Zacks Research Downgrades PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded PBF Energy from “strong-buy” to “hold”, adding to a mixed analyst picture for the refiners’ stock.
• Other firms have recently adjusted their views and targets, with price objectives ranging from $34 to $48; overall, PBF Energy now has an average analyst rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $36.15.
• PBF Energy recently reported Q1 earnings of -$0.88 per share, missing estimates, though revenue came in above expectations at $7.90 billion and rose 11.9% year over year.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on PBF Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Monday, May 11th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PBF Energy presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $36.15.

PBF Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PBF Energy stock opened at $40.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.96 and a 200-day moving average of $37.25. PBF Energy has a 1-year low of $19.47 and a 1-year high of $52.18.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $7.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. PBF Energy had a net margin of 1.46% and a negative return on equity of 4.12%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($3.53) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PBF Energy will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.17, for a total transaction of $4,317,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,117,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $782,141,022.66. This trade represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 50,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were 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 directly owned 790,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,026,043.92. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,582,425 shares of company stock worth $358,083,629. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 197.7% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PBF Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PBF Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in PBF Energy during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in PBF Energy by 235.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,299 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PBF Energy Company Profile

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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