Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $24.80 price target on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $18.70. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.39% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PBR. Zacks Research raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.35.

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

PBR stock opened at $20.43 on Friday. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.03 and a twelve month high of $22.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $131.66 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.47 and a 200 day moving average of $14.62.

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

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 273.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, BNP Paribas increased its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 241.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 4,240 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter.

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.