Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.62 EPS

Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.62), FiscalAI reports. Warrior Met Coal had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $507.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $505.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 54.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Warrior Met Coal’s conference call:

• Blue Creek’s ramp-up drove a 48% year-over-year increase in sales volume to 3.5 million short tons. Adjusted EBITDA rose 76% to $124 million, and Warrior generated $139 million in free cash flow; the company reaffirmed its 2026 guidance.
• Strong cash generation and increased liquidity supported the board’s declaration of a $2-per-share special dividend, in addition to the regular quarterly dividend. Management said excess cash is expected to be returned to shareholders for now, while it assesses whether the market can absorb more Blue Creek production.
• Higher freight, demurrage, royalties and inflation weighed on results, while Mine 7’s longwall move and difficult geology raised unit costs. Management expects freight and demurrage costs to remain above normal through year-end, and potentially longer, although Mine 7 has returned to normal operations.
• Steelmaking coal prices rose during the quarter, supported by Chinese production restrictions and other supply disruptions, but management expects volatility as supply conditions shift and Chinese steel demand remains weak. Warrior said near-term prices may remain supported but below September’s peak.

Warrior Met Coal Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCC traded up $3.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $84.02. 515,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,462. Warrior Met Coal has a 1-year low of $71.79 and a 1-year high of $111.42. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 3.93.

Warrior Met Coal Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Warrior Met Coal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HCC. Zacks Research cut shares of Warrior Met Coal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Warrior Met Coal from $102.00 to $97.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Warrior Met Coal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Warrior Met Coal from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warrior Met Coal from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen Williams sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.23, for a total value of $500,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,158,481.69. This trade represents a 13.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Walter J. Scheller sold 50,000 shares of Warrior Met Coal stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $5,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 317,793 shares in the company, valued at $33,368,265. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 104,800 shares of company stock valued at $11,250,304 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Warrior Met Coal Company Profile

Warrior Met Coal, Inc is a mining company focused on the production and export of high-quality metallurgical coal, also known as met coal. Its products are used primarily by steelmakers in the blast-furnace steelmaking process, where metallurgical coal is converted into coke to support the production of iron and steel.

The company operates underground coal mines and related processing facilities in the Brookwood coal-producing region of Alabama. Warrior Met Coal primarily produces premium hard coking coal and sells its products to customers in international steel markets, serving regions that include Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Warrior Met Coal was formed from the assets of Walter Energy after Walter Energy’s bankruptcy and began operating as an independent public company in 2016.