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

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 61,765 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 48% compared to the average volume of 41,670 call options.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the second quarter worth about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 273.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 3.2%

PBR stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.83. 33,460,164 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,007,545. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52-week low of $11.03 and a 52-week high of $16.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.91 and its 200-day moving average is $12.59. The company has a market cap of $101.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.0658 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PBR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.98.

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.