Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.20.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PBR shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on 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, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on 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.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 19,365 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares during the period. Fearnley Asset Management AS acquired a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 4th quarter valued at $17,590,000. Larch Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the fourth quarter worth $7,714,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,079 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 935,559 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $11,086,000 after purchasing an additional 267,859 shares during the period.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:PBR opened at $19.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.70 and its 200-day moving average is $13.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.71. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52 week low of $11.03 and a 52 week high of $20.28. The firm has a market cap of $127.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.51.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be paid a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Trending Headlines about Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Here are the key news stories impacting Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major gas discovery — Petrobras announced the Copoazu?1 gas find offshore Colombia, boosting its deepwater exploration upside and the value of the GUA?OFF?0 block, a potential multi?year reserve and production catalyst. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Transpetro diversifies customers — Petrobras’ logistics arm Transpetro signed shipping deals with Trafigura and Ipiranga, creating new revenue streams and reducing sole dependence on internal volumes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Long?term maintenance deal — Baker Hughes inked a strategic service agreement covering maintenance and repairs for up to 64 aeroderivative turbines that support Petrobras’ offshore and refinery operations, lowering operational risk and supporting reliability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwind — energy stocks showed strength in midweek trade, providing sector momentum that can help Petrobras’ market performance while oil/gas prices remain elevated. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Refinery utilization high — CEO said refineries will run at ~98.5% capacity in April, which supports domestic supply and product availability but leaves little buffer for maintenance or disruption. Impact on margins depends on local spreads. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulator orders supply of canceled auction volumes — Brazil’s ANP told Petrobras to supply diesel and gasoline volumes from auctions that were canceled, which could force sales at regulated or lower prices and compress refining and trading margins. This regulatory intervention is a near?term earnings risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk from geopolitics — escalation in the Middle East pressured US equities and creates volatility that can weigh on Petrobras despite sector moves, adding short?term downside risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Low analyst price target — a recent brokerage note set a $14.97 target for PBR, signaling some analyst skepticism and a potential cap on near?term upside relative to current levels. Read More.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petro?leo 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.