Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Announces $0.12 Special Dividend

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) announced a special dividend on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of 0.1191 per share by the oil and gas exploration company on Thursday, May 28th. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a dividend payout ratio of 13.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras to earn $3.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 8.4%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock opened at $21.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.76. The company has a market cap of $136.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1 year low of $11.03 and a 1 year high of $22.05.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 22.01%. As a group, analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PBR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $18.70 to $24.80 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.35.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Company Profile

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.