B. Riley Has Lowered Expectations for Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price target dropped by research analysts at B. Riley from $27.00 to $19.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the coal producer’s stock. B. Riley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 58.81% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark dropped their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU opened at $11.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.05 and a 200-day moving average of $20.05. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.52.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 714.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 4,009 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.