Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Down 4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) traded down 4% during trading on Monday after B. Riley lowered their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $19.00. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as low as $12.32 and last traded at $12.23. 1,209,550 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 3,171,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.73.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on BTU. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 251,078 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after purchasing an additional 52,960 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 323.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 248,891 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $6,605,000 after purchasing an additional 190,120 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $77,473,000 after purchasing an additional 216,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 16.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 37,826 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 5.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.82 and its 200 day moving average is $19.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal, Seaborne Metallurgical, Powder River Basin, Other U.S.