Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 47,386 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 27,553 call options.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

NYSE PBR traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.83. 3,650,700 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,220,764. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.42. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $14.98. The company has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.0658 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PBR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 15th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.90.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PBR. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 74.9% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 45.7% during the 2nd 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.

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.