Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on BTU. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Peabody Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.4%

BTU opened at $37.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of -130.91 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Peabody Energy has a fifty-two week low of $9.61 and a fifty-two week high of $39.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.66 and a 200-day moving average of $25.19.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.25% and a negative net margin of 0.83%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given 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 currently -103.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 215,214 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $6,390,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 66,859 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth $90,603,000. Unison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $735,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.