Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 47,386 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 72% compared to the average volume of 27,553 call options.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of PBR stock opened at $11.88 on Thursday. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1 year low of $11.03 and a 1 year high of $14.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.28 and its 200-day moving average is $12.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.50, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.53.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 23.32%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.0658 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio is 24.54%.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 6.9% during the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,234,730 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $27,956,000 after buying an additional 143,767 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 8.4% in the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 564,661 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,065,000 after acquiring an additional 43,750 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 298,508 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,734,000 after acquiring an additional 57,437 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 2nd quarter worth $148,086,000. Finally, Ping Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 179.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 235,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 151,000 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PBR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.90.

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.