Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $33.93 on Wednesday. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $39.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.26. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.39 and a beta of 0.52.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 10,401 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at about $261,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 87.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 21,414 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 472.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 195,461 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 161,335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.