Wall Street Zen Upgrades Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Warrior Met Coal to “strong-buy” from “buy.” Overall analyst sentiment is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $104.50.
• Warrior Met Coal reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $1.65 versus the $1.40 consensus estimate and revenue of $509.69 million, up 71.3% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 92.28% of the company, while insiders have sold 104,800 shares worth $11.25 million over the past 90 days.

Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Warrior Met Coal from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on Warrior Met Coal from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded Warrior Met Coal from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Warrior Met Coal from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warrior Met Coal presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.50.

Warrior Met Coal Price Performance

Shares of Warrior Met Coal stock opened at $93.06 on Friday. Warrior Met Coal has a 52 week low of $61.87 and a 52 week high of $111.42. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37 and a beta of 0.72. The company's 50-day moving average price is $96.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.08.

Warrior Met Coal (NYSE:HCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.25. Warrior Met Coal had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The company had revenue of $509.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $488.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The business's revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warrior Met Coal will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Walter J. Scheller sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $5,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 317,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,368,265. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Williams sold 4,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.23, for a total transaction of $500,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,158,481.69. This represents a 13.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 104,800 shares of company stock worth $11,250,304 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Warrior Met Coal

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warrior Met Coal by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 253,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,579,000 after purchasing an additional 110,500 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Warrior Met Coal in the second quarter worth $10,641,000. Ashoka WhiteOak Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Warrior Met Coal in the second quarter worth $11,394,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Warrior Met Coal during the second quarter worth $2,534,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in Warrior Met Coal during the second quarter worth $813,000. 92.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Warrior Met Coal

Warrior Met Coal, Inc NYSE: HCC is a U.S.-based producer and exporter of metallurgical coal, also known as coking coal. Its products are used primarily by global steelmakers in blast-furnace steel production, where metallurgical coal is converted into coke to support the conversion of iron ore into steel.

The company operates underground coal mines and related processing and transportation facilities in the Brookwood coal mine area of central Alabama. Warrior Met Coal's product portfolio is focused on premium high-volatility metallurgical coal, which it sells to customers in domestic and international steel markets.

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