Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BTU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group upped 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. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.75.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 3.2%

NYSE:BTU opened at $30.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.77 and its 200-day moving average is $23.02. 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. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.72 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 the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid 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 was Thursday, November 13th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -103.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at about $1,727,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 698.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 738,425 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $10,006,000 after purchasing an additional 645,934 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 398.4% in the 1st quarter. Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC now owns 114,638 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 91,638 shares in the last quarter. 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.