Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $34.00 to $34.50 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the coal producer’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential downside of 4.00% from the stock’s current price.

BTU has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.38.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.94. 2,740,200 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,067,634. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of -79.86 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.42. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $39.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.Peabody Energy’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 1.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 10,401 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $261,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 93.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,629 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 5,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,009,472 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $40,395,000 after acquiring an additional 40,785 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.