Short Interest in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Rises By 21.9%

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 25,557,177 shares, a growth of 21.9% from the December 31st total of 20,969,416 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 22,321,803 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 22,321,803 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 3rd quarter worth $140,433,000. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% in the third 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 during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the third quarter worth about $35,144,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,211,745 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $255,881,000 after buying an additional 2,592,536 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,872,441 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $61,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665,873 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 1.6%

PBR stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.28. The stock had a trading volume of 33,861,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,741,860. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $98.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.49. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a twelve month low of $11.03 and a twelve month high of $15.94.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.03. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 23.32%. As a group, research analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.0658 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PBR shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.97.

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.