Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target to $26.00

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its target price trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the coal producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on BTU. BMO Capital Markets raised Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $19.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.99. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.49.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 5.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 313,499 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $6,935,000 after purchasing an additional 14,806 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 141.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 159,894 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $3,537,000 after buying an additional 93,667 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 5.3% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,139 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 12.0% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 107,977 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 11,598 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal, Seaborne Metallurgical, Powder River Basin, Other U.S.