Brokerages Set Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Price Target at $35.63

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

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BTU shares. B. Riley Financial downgraded Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $23.61 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.41. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of -23.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $12.58 and a 12-month high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $973.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.42 million. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 3.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -30.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 10,401 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $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 during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 742.1% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 281,576 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,779,000 after purchasing an additional 248,140 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.