Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 161,291 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 199% compared to the typical volume of 53,864 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PBR shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.97.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE PBR traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,013,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,201,896. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52-week low of $11.43 and a 52-week high of $26.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.29.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $0.2649 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.86%.

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

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 58,593 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,377 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 83,087 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after buying an additional 42,604 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 18.6% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,589,233 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $54,037,000 after buying an additional 406,268 shares in the last quarter. Franchise GP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the third quarter worth approximately $17,660,000. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.5% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 381,919 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,971,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA, commonly known as Petrobras, is a Brazilian state-controlled, integrated energy company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 1953, the company is engaged primarily in the exploration, development, production, refining, transportation and marketing of oil and natural gas.

Petrobras has a major focus on offshore operations, particularly the development of Brazil’s pre-salt oil fields in the Santos and Campos basins. Its activities also include the processing and sale of petroleum products, natural gas and biofuels, as well as participation in power generation and other energy-related businesses.

The company serves the Brazilian market through its production, refining, logistics and distribution activities and has historically maintained international operations and partnerships.