UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at UBS Group from $27.00 to $29.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the coal producer’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.34% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BTU. B. Riley lifted their target price on Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.40.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Peabody Energy stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -100.34 and a beta of 0.57. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $9.61 and a 52-week high of $35.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.29.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its earnings results 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). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Peabody Energy by 24.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,982 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.