Investors Buy High Volume of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Call Options (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 80,491 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average daily volume of 54,614 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 273.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 241.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 4,240 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE PBR opened at $19.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12 month low of $11.03 and a 12 month high of $20.28. The company has a market cap of $124.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.58.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be issued a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of 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 cut shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.20.

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.