Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC) Issues Earnings Results

Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.62), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $507.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $505.84 million. Warrior Met Coal had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 54.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Warrior Met Coal’s conference call:

• Blue Creek’s ramp-up drove a 48% year-over-year increase in sales volume to 3.5 million short tons. Adjusted EBITDA rose 76% to $124 million, and Warrior generated $139 million in free cash flow; the company reaffirmed its 2026 guidance.
• Strong cash generation and increased liquidity supported the board’s declaration of a $2-per-share special dividend, in addition to the regular quarterly dividend. Management said excess cash is expected to be returned to shareholders for now, while it assesses whether the market can absorb more Blue Creek production.
• Higher freight, demurrage, royalties and inflation weighed on results, while Mine 7’s longwall move and difficult geology raised unit costs. Management expects freight and demurrage costs to remain above normal through year-end, and potentially longer, although Mine 7 has returned to normal operations.
• Steelmaking coal prices rose during the quarter, supported by Chinese production restrictions and other supply disruptions, but management expects volatility as supply conditions shift and Chinese steel demand remains weak. Warrior said near-term prices may remain supported but below September’s peak.

Warrior Met Coal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCC traded up $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,101,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,554. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 0.75. Warrior Met Coal has a 52 week low of $64.66 and a 52 week high of $111.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.49 and its 200 day moving average is $89.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 3.93.

Warrior Met Coal Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Warrior Met Coal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warrior Met Coal

In other news, CEO Walter Scheller sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $5,500,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,457,230. The trade was a 15.73% 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, Director Stephen D. Williams sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.23, for a total value of $500,304.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,158,481.69. This represents a 13.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 104,800 shares of company stock valued at $11,250,304. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on HCC. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Warrior Met Coal in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Warrior Met Coal from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Warrior Met Coal from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Warrior Met Coal from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Warrior Met Coal from $123.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.33.

About Warrior Met Coal

Warrior Met Coal, Inc is a mining company focused on the production and export of high-quality metallurgical coal, also known as met coal. Its products are used primarily by steelmakers in the blast-furnace steelmaking process, where metallurgical coal is converted into coke to support the production of iron and steel.

The company operates underground coal mines and related processing facilities in the Brookwood coal-producing region of Alabama. Warrior Met Coal primarily produces premium hard coking coal and sells its products to customers in international steel markets, serving regions that include Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Warrior Met Coal was formed from the assets of Walter Energy after Walter Energy’s bankruptcy and began operating as an independent public company in 2016.