Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Given New $36.50 Price Target at UBS Group

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $34.50 to $36.50 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the coal producer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.88.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU opened at $39.57 on Friday. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $41.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of -87.94 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.95.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTU. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $90,603,000. Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,092,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Peabody Energy by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,208,031 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $123,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,531 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,125,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $449,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191,438 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.