Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.25.

BTU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU opened at $37.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of -130.91 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.66 and a 200-day moving average of $25.19. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $9.61 and a one year high of $39.95. 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 earnings results 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). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.0% during the first 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 period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 10,401 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at about $261,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 64.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,018 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 6,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 98.6% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,962 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 4,946 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.