UBS Group Cuts Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target to $30.50

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its target price cut by UBS Group from $32.00 to $30.50 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the coal producer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on BTU. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $42.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.13.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE BTU opened at $23.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.85 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.87. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $12.58 and a 52-week high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $973.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.42 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.