PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on PBF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on PBF Energy from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of PBF Energy in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on PBF Energy from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on PBF Energy from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $30.14.

PBF Energy Stock Performance

PBF Energy stock opened at $32.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.26 and a 200-day moving average of $29.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.47. PBF Energy has a 52 week low of $13.61 and a 52 week high of $41.47.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.47 billion. PBF Energy had a negative net margin of 1.78% and a negative return on equity of 15.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.50) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that PBF Energy will post -1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PBF Energy

In other PBF Energy news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital sold 260,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $8,624,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,407,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,616,708.66. The trade was a 0.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul T. Davis sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $1,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 192,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,310,858. This trade represents a 20.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 845,624 shares of company stock valued at $29,349,545. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PBF Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in PBF Energy by 197.7% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 887 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in PBF Energy by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of PBF Energy by 235.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,299 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of PBF Energy in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of PBF Energy by 67.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,993 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.