Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $26.34, but opened at $28.23. Peabody Energy shares last traded at $28.4650, with a volume of 1,797,980 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.13.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of -29.15 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.00.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $973.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $977.42 million. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 3.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -30.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 258.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.