Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.25.

A number of analysts have commented on BTU shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Peabody Energy by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 48.5% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 2.4%

BTU stock opened at $35.25 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $31.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.92. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $39.95. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -121.55 and a beta of 0.41.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $990.20 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. Peabody Energy’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.