Insider Selling: Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) CAO Sells $73,693.26 in Stock

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) CAO Scott Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BTU stock opened at $36.36 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.52. Peabody Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $37.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -125.38 and a beta of 0.41.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -103.45%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BTU. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.