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

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 2nd. Zacks Research cut Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Peabody Energy from $17.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.8%

BTU stock opened at $28.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.99 and a beta of 0.50. Peabody Energy has a fifty-two week low of $9.61 and a fifty-two week high of $35.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.35 and a 200-day moving average of $19.41.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently -103.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 315.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,125 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 57.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.