Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Down 3.7% – What’s Next?

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) shares were down 3.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $26.85 and last traded at $27.14. Approximately 303,621 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 3,465,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BTU shares. B. Riley Financial cut Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Peabody Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.13.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.52 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.97.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $973.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.42 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 0.48 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently -30.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 258.7% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.