Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Peabody Energy from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with a $33.88 target price.
• Peabody’s shares opened at $24.39, near their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $25.89 and $26.94, respectively, and remain well below the 12-month high of $41.14.
• The coal producer missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a $0.74 per-share loss versus the estimated $0.38 loss, despite revenue of roughly $1 billion increasing 12.7% year over year.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BTU. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reduced their target price on Peabody Energy from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $26.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Friday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.88.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $24.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm's 50-day moving average is $25.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.94. Peabody Energy has a 12 month low of $20.06 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of -16.26 and a beta of 0.34.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coal producer reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a negative return on equity of 5.22%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,589 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation NYSE: BTU is a global coal producer and energy company. It primarily mines and sells thermal coal, which is used for electricity generation, and metallurgical coal, which is used in steelmaking. The company also markets and trades coal and provides related services, including coal transportation and land management.

Peabody operates mining assets in the United States and Australia and serves utility, industrial and steelmaking customers in domestic and international markets.

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