Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.25.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $37.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.19. Peabody Energy has a fifty-two week low of $9.61 and a fifty-two week high of $39.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the business’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 directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 19.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,208,031 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $123,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,531 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $117,363,000 after purchasing an additional 354,099 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 0.5% in the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,916,934 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $52,565,000 after purchasing an additional 18,920 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,603,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,009,472 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $40,395,000 after purchasing an additional 40,785 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.