Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BTU. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.4%

Peabody Energy stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.97. 2,055,815 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,653,670. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.66 and its 200 day moving average is $25.19. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $39.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.91 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.25% and a negative net margin of 0.83%.Peabody Energy’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,803.56. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 57.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 48.5% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the second quarter valued at $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.