Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives $27.75 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.75.

BTU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $30.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.77 and its 200-day moving average is $23.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of -105.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $35.99.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -103.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 10.0% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 44,000 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $4,478,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $191,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $1,727,000. 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.