PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $76.16 and last traded at $73.7970, with a volume of 183731 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $72.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBF has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore started coverage on shares of PBF Energy in a report on Friday, July 17th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Capital downgraded PBF Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on PBF Energy from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $50.92.

PBF Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 6.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.08 and a beta of 0.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.36.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.15 by $2.07. The firm had revenue of $11.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.61 billion. PBF Energy had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.94%.PBF Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.03) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PBF Energy Inc. will post 15.74 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. PBF Energy’s payout ratio is 9.73%.

Insider Transactions at PBF Energy

In related news, CEO Matthew C. Lucey sold 225,473 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total value of $16,216,018.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 495,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,655,850.32. This trade represents a 31.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 468,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.54, for a total transaction of $32,554,386.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 793,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,196,470.98. The trade was a 37.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,132,674 shares of company stock valued at $370,356,734 in the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBF. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 67,674 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 30,430 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in PBF Energy by 127.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,327,255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $171,595,000 after buying an additional 3,550,820 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in PBF Energy by 351.3% in the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 265,493 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,200,000 after buying an additional 206,666 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in PBF Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,485,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PBF Energy by 7,210.8% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 628,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,037,000 after buying an additional 619,622 shares during the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PBF Energy Company Profile

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.