Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 68,297 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 53% compared to the average daily volume of 44,761 call options.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBR. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,702,467 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $34,213,000 after purchasing an additional 467,737 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,808,705 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $238,118,000 after purchasing an additional 7,772,595 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,342,000. North of South Capital LLP increased its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 150.9% during the third quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 285,373 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,613,000 after buying an additional 171,649 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.4% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,994,268 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $25,247,000 after buying an additional 137,370 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Monday, reaching $17.33. 43,997,153 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,502,350. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $13.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.89. The company has a market cap of $111.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.82. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1-year low of $11.03 and a 1-year high of $17.34.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.0658 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PBR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.98.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA – Petrobras is a Brazilian, state-controlled integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 1953, Petrobras is principally engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and operates across the full value chain from upstream activities through refining, transportation and downstream marketing of petroleum products. The company is a major player in Brazil’s energy sector and is a listed public company with global capital market presence.

Petrobras’s core activities include deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration and production, where it has been a pioneer in developing pre-salt reserves off Brazil’s coast.