Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Down 5% – Should You Sell?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)’s share price fell 5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $13.96 and last traded at $13.98. 776,546 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,770,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BTU. B. Riley dropped their target price on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.66.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The firm had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.57 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,934,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $402,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $261,000. Scientech Research LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 92.9% during the 1st quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 43,314 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 20,862 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 398.4% during the 1st quarter. Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC now owns 114,638 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 91,638 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.