Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.1250.

Several equities analysts recently commented on BTU shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTU. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter worth $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 3.5%

BTU stock opened at $31.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.98. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $12.58 and a 52 week high of $41.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of -31.48 and a beta of 0.36.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.40). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The business had revenue of $973.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -30.30%.

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.