Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.6250.

Several analysts have commented on BTU shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on Peabody Energy from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 10,401 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter worth $261,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $9,039,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 291,577 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,913,000 after purchasing an additional 51,384 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU opened at $30.20 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.75. 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 12 month low of $11.06 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.11 and a beta of 0.63.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -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.