Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Down 10.7% – Time to Sell?

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) fell 10.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $34.72 and last traded at $35.2630. 3,781,973 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average session volume of 3,357,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BTU shares. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peabody Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.88.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 9.8%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -79.14 and a beta of 0.54.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 258.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.