Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Rating Reiterated by Benchmark

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 price objective on the coal producer’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.26% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $23.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.98. Peabody Energy has a 12 month low of $17.71 and a 12 month high of $27.70.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Peabody Energy news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $357,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,114.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $357,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,114.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 31,980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.48, for a total transaction of $814,850.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,307 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,262.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,806 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,565. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,337,844 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $281,406,000 after purchasing an additional 397,931 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 5.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,371,250 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $181,321,000 after acquiring an additional 420,514 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,147,834 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $173,838,000 after acquiring an additional 273,768 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,729,856 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $163,968,000 after acquiring an additional 437,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 11.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,215,026 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $159,105,000 after acquiring an additional 649,904 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.