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

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 14,762 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 392% compared to the average volume of 2,998 call options.

Key Headlines Impacting PBF Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting PBF Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large call‑option activity — traders bought about 14,762 calls (≈392% above average), signaling speculative bullish positioning or hedging by institutional/options players that can amplify upside into company news.
• Positive Sentiment: Shares hit a one‑year high as investors accumulated ahead of business updates and PBF’s participation in a conference, reflecting elevated expectations for positive operational commentary or guidance. PBF Energy (PBF) Climbs to 1-Year High
• Neutral Sentiment: Control Empresarial de Capital remains a very large long‑term holder (still >27M shares) despite trimming positions across several dates; the scale of ownership suggests continued alignment even as it takes profits. SEC Form 4 — Control Empresarial
• Neutral Sentiment: PBF recently reported better‑than‑expected quarterly EPS ($0.49 vs. est. -$0.15) and announced a quarterly dividend ($0.275), both supportive fundamentals that can justify investor interest ahead of updates.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: Control Empresarial sold 120,000 shares on 3/2 and 99,000 on 3/3 (~$8.6M combined proceeds), and director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 200,000 shares on 3/3 (~$8.0M), the latter a ~20% cut to his holding — these profit‑taking moves can constrain further upside and raise governance/confidence questions for some investors. SEC Filing — Thomas J. Nimbley
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed-to-negative: consensus on MarketBeat is “Reduce” with a ~$30.21 target — that divergence between market enthusiasm and analyst targets could increase volatility if company updates don’t meet bullish expectations.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PBF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PBF Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho upgraded 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 report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of PBF Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $30.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at PBF Energy

In related news, Director Thomas J. Nimbley sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $8,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 790,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,683,990.12. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 99,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $3,992,670.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,372,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,103,920,745.34. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,054,879 shares of company stock worth $108,052,950 over the last ninety days. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in PBF Energy by 127.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,327,255 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $171,595,000 after buying an additional 3,550,820 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $131,661,000 after acquiring an additional 60,294 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,651,516 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PBF Energy by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,503,283 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $75,524,000 after acquiring an additional 418,223 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in PBF Energy by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,400,702 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $65,108,000 after purchasing an additional 331,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

PBF Energy Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE PBF opened at $45.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of -31.10, a PEG ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. PBF Energy has a 12 month low of $13.61 and a 12 month high of $47.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.12 and a 200-day moving average of $31.69.

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

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -74.83%.

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.