Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target Raised to $36.50

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $34.50 to $36.50 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the coal producer’s stock.

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

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU opened at $39.57 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.94 and a beta of 0.54. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $9.61 and a 1-year high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of Peabody Energy 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in 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 valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $452,000 after buying an additional 10,401 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 93.8% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,629 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 5,145 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 68.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 106,288 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 43,183 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.