Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Trading 5.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) shares rose 5.1% on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $34.50 to $36.50. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as high as $39.62 and last traded at $39.3410. Approximately 1,047,973 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 3,283,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.43.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BTU. Zacks Research cut Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 258.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.22 and a 200-day moving average of $30.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.04 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

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.