Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.31, but opened at $12.15. Peabody Energy shares last traded at $11.56, with a volume of 973,677 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark decreased their price objective 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 lowered their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 11.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 714.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 4,009 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 1,433.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 31,883 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 29,804 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $289,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $5,162,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,742,000. 87.44% of the stock is 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.