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

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on BTU. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $26.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Friday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.88.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $24.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $20.06 and a 52 week high of $41.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.26 and a beta of 0.34.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The coal producer reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.36). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 4.56%.The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,078 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,328 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.6% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 56,694 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,868,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,589 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.