Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target Cut to $42.00 by Analysts at B. Riley Financial

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its target price decreased by B. Riley Financial from $43.00 to $42.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. B. Riley Financial currently has a buy rating on the coal producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BTU. UBS Group increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.63.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $32.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.85. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $41.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of -73.24 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.18 and its 200-day moving average is $31.35.

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

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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 $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $449,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,532,978 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $283,129,000 after acquiring an additional 306,187 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 during the period. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $52,565,000 after purchasing an additional 18,920 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $90,603,000. 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.