Petrobras (PBR) Board Okays Vanguard Lawsuit Settlement

Brazil oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro S.A., aka Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) recently approved to settle a shareholder lawsuit filed by The Vanguard Group, Inc. to recoup the losses related to the corruption charges against the company.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the state-run company due to its involvement in the massive corruption scandal and multibillion-dollar money laundering. Various senior executives of the company have been accused of taking bribes for inflated contract schemes.

Vanguard is Petrobras’ biggest shareholders after the federal government and other Brazilian agencies. Though Petrobras assured Vanguard that it shall remain transparent in all its dealings and transactions related to growth plans, the company got involved in corruption and concealed corruption schemes.

Vanguard alleged that the company overstated the value of assets and manipulated earnings. This led to huge losses for shareholders. The lawsuits filed by Vanguard will help to recuperate losses from various money laundering and bribery schemes tied to company contracts. The settlement of the cases would resolve uncertainties, costs and potential liabilities associated with the disputes.

Prior to the Vanguard settlement, the company already reached a settlement in 19 individual actions out of the total 27 that were consolidated with the class action. Earlier this year, the company set aside $372 million in provision for the settlement of lawsuits. This was $8 million more than what had been provisioned in Sep 2016. Though the board of directors did not disclose the exact financial terms of Vanguard settlement, the company has raised the financial provision from $372 million to $445 million.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Petrobras operates in segments like exploration, refining, marketing, transporting, distribution and biofuels. The company, under the Zacks categorized Oil & Gas Emerging Markets Integrated industry, currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price

Some better-ranked players in the energy space include Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TO:CNQ) , Enbridge Energy, L.P. (NYSE:EEP) and Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DK) . All the three companies sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Canadian Natural Resources is expected to post year-over-year growth of 724.76% in its earnings in 2017.

Enbridge Energy delivered a positive average earnings surprise of 38.22% in the trailing four quarters.

Delek US Holdings delivered a positive average earnings surprise of 60.68% in the trailing four quarters.

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