Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 502,831 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 34,715 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $5,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 55.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,852 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 11,680 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,631 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the second quarter valued at $144,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the second quarter worth about $168,000. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 16.2% during the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,411 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PBR has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.20.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE PBR opened at $19.29 on Tuesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $15.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be issued a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.17%.

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.