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

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.1250.

BTU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial downgraded Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 20th.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 10.6%

BTU stock opened at $29.12 on Friday. Peabody Energy has a 12 month low of $12.58 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -29.42 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.40). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The business had revenue of $973.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -30.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 10,401 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Peabody Energy by 21.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 742.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 281,576 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 248,140 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Peabody Energy

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.