Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PBR)

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 36,062 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 23% compared to the typical volume of 29,288 put options.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Stock Up 0.9 %

PBR traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.53. 6,560,143 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,396,811. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $17.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 28.42%. The firm had revenue of $23.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.22 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 15.4%. This is a positive change from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras’s previous Variable dividend of $0.03. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PBR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $16.80 to $17.90 in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $18.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from $19.30 to $16.70 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from $19.40 to $18.10 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.07.

Institutional Trading of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,892 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $365,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras during the 4th quarter worth approximately $706,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 69,580 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 15,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,758,000.

About Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA – Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. It also engages in prospecting, drilling, refining, processing, trading, and transporting crude oil from producing onshore and offshore oil fields, and shale or other rocks, as well as oil products, natural gas, and other liquid hydrocarbons.