PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Shares Up 7.9% – Still a Buy?

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) shares shot up 7.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $66.71 and last traded at $66.5610. 2,017,320 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 3,376,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PBF shares. Freedom Capital downgraded PBF Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a report on Friday. Scotiabank upped their price target on PBF Energy from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PBF Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of PBF Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $50.15.

PBF Energy Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.60 and a 200-day moving average of $44.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.08 and a beta of 0.10.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.15 by $2.07. PBF Energy had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.94%.The firm had revenue of $11.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.03) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 56.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that PBF Energy Inc. will post 15.74 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, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. PBF Energy’s payout ratio is presently 9.73%.

Insider Transactions at PBF Energy

In related news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 570,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.36, for a total value of $26,425,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,142,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $794,709,054.08. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew C. Lucey sold 225,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total value of $16,216,018.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 495,771 shares in the company, valued at $35,655,850.32. The trade was a 31.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,260,935 shares of company stock valued at $235,363,946 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in PBF Energy by 19.3% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 43,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,996,000 after buying an additional 7,107 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,781 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of PBF Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of PBF Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,574,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,728 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. 96.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PBF Energy Company Profile

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.