B. Riley Financial Downgrades Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) to Neutral

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial downgraded Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating and cut its price target to $30 (from $42), implying roughly a 10.6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" rating with a consensus target price of $35.63 (two Buys, three Holds, one Sell).
• Peabody recently missed quarterly EPS (reported $0.09 vs. $0.10 expected), saw revenue down ~9% year-over-year, has a negative net margin and P/E (-60.43), and the stock trades near $27 with a market cap of about $3.31B.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by B. Riley Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Thursday. They currently have a $30.00 price objective on the coal producer's stock, down from their previous price objective of $42.00. B. Riley Financial's target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.57% from the stock's previous close.

BTU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Peabody Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Peabody Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:BTU opened at $27.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $12.19 and a 1-year high of $41.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -60.43 and a beta of 0.63.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 258.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.

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