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

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

BTU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $17.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Monday. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $29.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of -101.86 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.12 and a 200 day moving average of $20.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $35.99.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.25% and a negative net margin of 0.83%.The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -103.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 57.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 48.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal, Seaborne Metallurgical, Powder River Basin, Other U.S.