Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target Raised to $44.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the coal producer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 19.41% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,650,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,128,103. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $37.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of -126.48 and a beta of 0.41.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.