Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.25 EPS

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25), Zacks reports. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 8.6 %

Shares of Peabody Energy stock traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.43. 8,135,554 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,294,473. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.89. Peabody Energy has a fifty-two week low of $16.34 and a fifty-two week high of $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.95.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

About Peabody Energy

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.