Brokerages Set Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Price Target at $38.63

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.6250.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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, Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,328 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Regal Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,309,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 548,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $16,294,000 after buying an additional 126,805 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $471,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $28.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.43 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.93 and its 200-day moving average is $31.88. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $11.90 and a 1 year high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -66.67%.

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.