Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) Announces Special Dividend of $0.26

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) declared a special dividend on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.2649 per share by the oil and gas exploration company on Tuesday, December 1st. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a dividend payout ratio of 17.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras to earn $3.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.43 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.2%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Up 0.6%

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock opened at $19.13 on Friday. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.43 and a 12-month high of $22.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $123.28 billion, a PE ratio of 4.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PBR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Friday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.28.

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.