Stock 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 some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 161,291 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 199% compared to the average volume of 53,864 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PBR. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.97.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. NFSG Corp raised its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 4,125 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $97,000.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of PBR stock opened at $25.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.88 and a 200 day moving average of $19.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $167.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.29. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.43 and a twelve month high of $26.10.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.2649 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is 10.86%.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro SA — Petrobras is a Brazilian state-controlled, integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, refining, transportation and marketing of oil and natural gas. Founded in 1953, the company plays a central role in Brazil’s energy sector and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.

Petrobras produces crude oil and natural gas, with a major focus on Brazil’s deepwater and pre-salt offshore fields. Its operations also include refining and selling petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and other petrochemicals.