B. Riley Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price target cut by equities researchers at B. Riley Financial from $43.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the coal producer’s stock. B. Riley Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.76% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BTU. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Peabody Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.63.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 4.1%

NYSE BTU traded down $1.47 on Tuesday, hitting $34.21. 1,367,207 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,363,533. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of -76.39 and a beta of 0.54. Peabody Energy has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.27 and a 200-day moving average of $31.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 worth $985,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 10,401 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at $261,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 274,537 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $3,684,000 after purchasing an additional 7,554 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 312,916 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 3,374 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.