Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.29 and last traded at $19.1650, with a volume of 22133801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PBR has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.20.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $123.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.30, a PEG ratio of 0.18 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.29.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PBR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 55.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the second quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 30,523 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC grew its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 25,494 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 8,544 shares in the last quarter.

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.