PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

PBF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler set a $41.00 price objective on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised PBF Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PBF Energy currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $30.14.

PBF Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PBF stock opened at $32.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of -7.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. PBF Energy has a 52-week low of $13.61 and a 52-week high of $41.47.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.52) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.47 billion. PBF Energy had a negative return on equity of 15.88% and a negative net margin of 1.78%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.50) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PBF Energy will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -23.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Paul T. Davis sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $1,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 192,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,310,858. This trade represents a 20.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven John Andriola sold 2,579 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $67,544.01. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,072.66. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 845,624 shares of company stock worth $29,349,545. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PBF Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in PBF Energy by 147.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,772,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $83,639,000 after buying an additional 1,651,516 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 20.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,503,283 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,524,000 after acquiring an additional 418,223 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in PBF Energy by 2,198.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,212,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159,628 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in PBF Energy by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,174,201 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,445,000 after purchasing an additional 75,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in PBF Energy by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,155,303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,855,000 after purchasing an additional 246,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

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.