Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Up 5.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) shares rose 5.1% during trading on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $34.50 to $36.50. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as high as $39.62 and last traded at $39.3410. Approximately 1,047,973 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 3,283,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.43.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BTU. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research cut Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.88.

Insider Activity

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 10,401 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at about $261,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 93.8% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,629 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 68.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 106,288 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 43,183 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.95. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.94 and a beta of 0.54.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

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.