Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Up 9% – Still a Buy?
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyPeabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU – Get Free Report)’s stock price was up 9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $38.10 and last traded at $39.5060. Approximately 1,290,622 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 3,009,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.26.
Analyst Ratings Changes
BTU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.38.
Peabody Energy Price Performance
The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.63 and a beta of 0.54.
Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -66.67%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value 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 trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 10,401 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $261,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 93.8% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,629 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 5,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,009,472 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $40,395,000 after acquiring an additional 40,785 shares during 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.