Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

PBR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.48.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of PBR opened at $20.32 on Monday. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1-year low of $11.43 and a 1-year high of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $130.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PBR. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,637,308 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $363,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425,563 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter valued at $126,355,000. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 1st quarter worth $65,428,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the 2nd quarter worth $42,858,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS bought a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter worth $21,778,000.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Company Profile

Petróleo 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.