Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.8750.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BTU shares. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Peabody Energy from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

NYSE BTU opened at $28.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.26 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.75. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $17.28 and a 52-week high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released 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 net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is -20.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 10,401 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $261,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 291,577 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $3,913,000 after acquiring an additional 51,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 742.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 281,576 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $3,779,000 after acquiring an additional 248,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.