PBF Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PBF)

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 64,035 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 3,175% compared to the average daily volume of 1,955 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 480,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.07, for a total transaction of $16,833,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,583,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,037,493,274.86. This represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,385,879 shares of company stock valued at $82,719,180 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBF. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in PBF Energy by 127.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,327,255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $171,595,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,820 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in PBF Energy by 147.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,772,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $83,639,000 after buying an additional 1,651,516 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in PBF Energy by 230.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,085,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,183,000 after buying an additional 1,454,500 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PBF Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $34,243,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 2,198.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,212,368 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

PBF Energy Stock Up 1.5%

PBF stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $33.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,394,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,511,366. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.94, a PEG ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.50. PBF Energy has a 1-year low of $13.61 and a 1-year high of $41.47.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.64. PBF Energy had a negative return on equity of 8.86% and a negative net margin of 0.54%.The company had revenue of $7.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($2.82) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PBF Energy will post -1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -74.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on PBF Energy from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of PBF Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PBF Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PBF Energy from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $30.21.

About PBF Energy

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.