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

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.3750.

BTU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the second quarter worth $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 258.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE BTU opened at $34.71 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.68. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $9.61 and a one 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 market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of -77.12 and a beta of 0.54.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its 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). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

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.