Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Rating Lowered by B. Riley Financial

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) was downgraded by research analysts at B. Riley Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $30.00 price objective on the coal producer’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $42.00. B. Riley Financial’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.10% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on BTU. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Peabody Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.63.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU opened at $26.53 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $12.49 and a 12-month high of $41.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.13 and a 200-day moving average of $31.62. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.95 and a beta of 0.63.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 197.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 581,931 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $16,457,000 after buying an additional 386,470 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,603,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position 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 worth $117,363,000 after buying an additional 354,099 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $772,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth $8,345,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by 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.