Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $36.06 and last traded at $35.9610, with a volume of 4782370 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BTU. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.33.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -125.38 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.37.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently -103.45%.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 24.0% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,982 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.