Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives $37.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $33.53 on Wednesday. Peabody Energy has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $39.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of -74.51 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.55 and its 200 day moving average is $28.03.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,129,216. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $449,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191,438 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Peabody Energy by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,532,978 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $283,129,000 after acquiring an additional 306,187 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,459 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $117,363,000 after purchasing an additional 354,099 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 0.5% during the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,916,934 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $52,565,000 after purchasing an additional 18,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,603,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.