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

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.88.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Benchmark cut their price objective on Peabody Energy from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $26.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $25.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.97 and a beta of 0.33. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $20.06 and a one year high of $41.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.65.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coal producer reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.36). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 5.22%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.0750 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. X Square Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter worth about $2,470,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter worth about $1,776,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at about $3,463,000. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at about $2,959,000. Finally, Susquehanna Advisors Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,081,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is a global coal producer and energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The company mines, processes and sells thermal coal used primarily for electricity generation and metallurgical coal used in steelmaking.

Peabody operates mining assets in the United States and Australia and serves customers in domestic and international markets. Its products are sold to electric utilities, steel producers, industrial customers and other commercial buyers, with sales delivered through both seaborne and domestic channels.

Founded in 1883, Peabody has developed from a regional coal business into one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies.