PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PBF. Citigroup raised their price objective on PBF Energy from $43.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on PBF Energy from $39.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank increased their target price on PBF Energy from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised PBF Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PBF Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.62.

PBF Energy Trading Down 0.3%

PBF stock opened at $61.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.31. PBF Energy has a one year low of $21.24 and a one year high of $68.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.64.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. PBF Energy had a negative return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 1.46%.PBF Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($3.53) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PBF Energy will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. PBF Energy’s payout ratio is currently 29.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PBF Energy news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 570,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.36, for a total transaction of $26,425,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,142,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $794,709,054.08. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,541,570 shares of company stock worth $165,787,386. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBF. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in PBF Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in PBF Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in PBF Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in PBF Energy by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in PBF Energy in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting PBF Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting PBF Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PBF was added to multiple Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) lists on July 24, including momentum, value, income, and general strong-buy screens, which can boost trader interest and signal improving analyst sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several Zacks pieces highlighted PBF as a top-ranked growth, value, income, and momentum stock, reinforcing the idea that the name is screening well across multiple investment styles. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PBF was featured in a “Best Momentum Stocks” article and noted as being up strongly over the past week, suggesting short-term buying momentum remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One article compared PBF’s year-to-date performance with peers like Phillips 66, which is mainly a relative-performance check and not a direct catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Another note said PBF does not have the ideal setup for a likely earnings beat ahead of next week’s report, so investors may remain cautious until the company releases results. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published an earnings preview titled “Don’t Get Trapped At The Top”, which suggests some skepticism about upside after the recent run-up. Article Title

About PBF Energy

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.