Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $30.54 and last traded at $30.98, with a volume of 1315992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.31.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on BTU. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1,433.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 31,883 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 29,804 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 714.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 4,009 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1,583.2% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,016 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 4,718 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 70.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter worth about $662,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.68.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The coal producer reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $890.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.27 million. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.13%.

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.