Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Upgraded at Bank of America

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $24.80 target price on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $18.70. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.81% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on PBR. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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, February 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on 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. Zacks Research upgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.35.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of PBR opened at $21.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $18.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.56. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 52 week low of $11.03 and a 52 week high of $22.05.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 22.01%. On average, analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the third quarter worth approximately $140,433,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,637,308 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $363,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10,425,563 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,808,705 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $238,118,000 after buying an additional 7,772,595 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,144,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 4th quarter valued at $21,778,000.

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.