Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF)

PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 3,130 put options on the company. This is an increase of 77% compared to the average volume of 1,768 put options.

PBF Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of PBF opened at $19.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.95. PBF Energy has a 12-month low of $18.20 and a 12-month high of $62.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.15 and a beta of 1.62.

PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The oil and gas company reported ($2.82) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.80) by ($1.02). The firm had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.25 billion. PBF Energy had a negative net margin of 1.61% and a negative return on equity of 7.40%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PBF Energy will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

PBF Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. PBF Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -23.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PBF Energy news, insider Control Empresarial De Capital purchased 100,000 shares of PBF Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.60 per share, with a total value of $2,960,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 29,084,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $860,915,940.80. This trade represents a 0.35 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 671,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,862,200. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PBF Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of PBF Energy by 968.8% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in PBF Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in PBF Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PBF Energy by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PBF Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. 96.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PBF. TD Cowen decreased their target price on PBF Energy from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of PBF Energy from $28.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PBF Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on PBF Energy from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on PBF Energy from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.55.

About PBF Energy

PBF Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in refining and supplying petroleum products. The company operates in two segments, Refining and Logistics. It produces gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel, heating oil, diesel fuel, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemicals, and asphalt, as well as unbranded transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks, blending components, and other petroleum products from crude oil.