Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Up 5.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)’s share price traded up 5.1% on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $34.50 to $36.50. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as high as $39.62 and last traded at $39.3410. 1,047,973 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 3,283,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.43.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BTU. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 104.3% in 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 in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 258.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of -87.94 and a beta of 0.54.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio 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.