Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

BTU has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock traded down $0.56 on Friday, reaching $37.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,055,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,653,670. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $39.95. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -130.91 and a beta of 0.41.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.39). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.25% and a negative net margin of 0.83%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.20 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 258.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

About Peabody Energy

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.