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

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 36,145 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 28% compared to the average daily volume of 28,159 put options.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Down 3.2%

NYSE PBR traded down $0.39 on Tuesday, hitting $11.80. 14,698,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,294,387. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.29 and a 200 day moving average of $12.41. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.03 and a twelve month high of $14.98. The company has a market capitalization of $76.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.53.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 16.15%. As a group, analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.0658 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is presently 32.41%.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 210,974 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Drum Hill Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.7% in the third quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC now owns 132,914 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 45.7% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 6.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 15,322 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 6.3% during the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 16,950 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PBR shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $15.80 to $14.40 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.90.

Petroleo 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 three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily for supplies to the domestic refineries.