UBS Group Raises Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target to $36.50

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $34.50 to $36.50 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the coal producer’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.77% from the stock’s current price.

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

Peabody Energy Stock Up 5.7%

NYSE:BTU opened at $39.57 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.94 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $9.61 and a 1-year high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $449,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,532,978 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $283,129,000 after purchasing an additional 306,187 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,459 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $117,363,000 after purchasing an additional 354,099 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. increased its position in Peabody Energy by 0.5% during the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,916,934 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $52,565,000 after buying an additional 18,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth $90,603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.