PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Stock Price Down 9.3% Following Insider Selling

Shares of PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) traded down 9.3% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $41.32 and last traded at $41.9110. 729,304 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,675,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.19.

Specifically, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.87, for a total transaction of $8,974,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 18,688,698 shares in the company, valued at $838,561,879.26. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 220,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.91, for a total transaction of $10,100,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 18,468,698 shares in the company, valued at $847,897,925.18. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In related news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.41, for a total value of $133,230.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,888,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $838,847,078.18. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PBF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of PBF Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of PBF Energy in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of PBF Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $35.92.

PBF Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.29.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.79) by ($0.09). PBF Energy had a net margin of 1.46% and a negative return on equity of 4.12%. The company had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($3.53) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PBF Energy Inc. will post 6.21 earnings per share for the current year.

PBF Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PBF Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 3.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 11.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,366,331 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $207,953,000 after buying an additional 454,731 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 361.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 189,148 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,718,000 after buying an additional 148,124 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of PBF Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $8,527,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of PBF Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $231,000. Institutional investors own 96.29% of the company’s stock.

About PBF Energy

PBF Energy, Inc is an independent petroleum refiner organized in 2008 and headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2012 under the ticker symbol PBF. Since its formation, PBF Energy has grown through acquisitions and operational optimization, positioning itself as a leading supplier of refined petroleum products in the United States.

The company owns and operates five refineries located along the U.S. Gulf Coast, East Coast and in the Pacific Northwest, with a combined crude oil processing capacity of approximately 900,000 barrels per day.