Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Down 5.8% – Here’s Why

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)’s share price traded down 5.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $25.60 and last traded at $25.6510. Approximately 2,229,406 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 3,103,834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark dropped their target price on Peabody Energy from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $26.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.88.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 6.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.09 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.41.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coal producer reported ($0.74) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.36). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is -20.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. X Square Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,470,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $1,776,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth $3,463,000. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth $2,959,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1,139.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 328,139 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $10,812,000 after acquiring an additional 301,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) is a global coal producer and energy company. It primarily mines and sells thermal coal, which is used for electricity generation, and metallurgical coal, which is used in steelmaking. The company also markets and trades coal and provides related services, including coal transportation and land management.

Peabody operates mining assets in the United States and Australia and serves utility, industrial and steelmaking customers in domestic and international markets.