Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial downgraded Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.13.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.11. 197,569 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,366,029. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of -24.51 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.47. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $12.58 and a 52 week high of $41.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $973.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.42 million. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 3.07%.Peabody Energy’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value 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 represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,838 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 24.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 21.8% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 27,849 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 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.