New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 467,737 Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,702,467 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 467,737 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $34,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,808,705 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $238,118,000 after acquiring an additional 7,772,595 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the third quarter worth approximately $1,342,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 23.8% in the second quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 298,508 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 57,437 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.4% in the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,994,268 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $25,247,000 after buying an additional 137,370 shares during the period. Finally, North of South Capital LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 150.9% during the 3rd quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 285,373 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,613,000 after buying an additional 171,649 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PBR shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.97.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE PBR opened at $15.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.56 and its 200-day moving average is $12.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.51. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a one year low of $11.03 and a one year high of $15.94.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.0658 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.30%.

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.