Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $21.50, but opened at $20.28. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras shares last traded at $20.1990, with a volume of 6,854,931 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PBR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $18.70 to $24.80 in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.35.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Down 5.0%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.62. The company has a market cap of $131.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Everstar Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 26,794 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 13,617 shares during the period. Connective Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter worth about $2,909,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter worth about $1,142,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter worth about $819,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 19,365 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the period.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

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.