JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) to Overweight

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $19.00 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $16.50.

PBR has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from $19.30 to $16.70 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from $19.40 to $18.10 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the company from $18.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $16.80 to $17.90 in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $18.20.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBR opened at $14.58 on Wednesday. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras has a 1-year low of $12.90 and a 1-year high of $17.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $14.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.09.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras had a return on equity of 28.42% and a net margin of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $23.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.22 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Variable dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 15.4%. This is a positive change from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras’s previous Variable dividend of $0.03. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 112.5% in the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 26,627 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 14,098 shares during the period. Bluefin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 152.3% during the second quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC now owns 26,019 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 15,708 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras during the second quarter valued at $1,521,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 1.3% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,430,800 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $20,732,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras by 36.2% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 19,217 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 5,104 shares in the last quarter.

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras Company Profile

Petróleo Brasileiro SA – Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. It also engages in prospecting, drilling, refining, processing, trading, and transporting crude oil from producing onshore and offshore oil fields, and shale or other rocks, as well as oil products, natural gas, and other liquid hydrocarbons.