Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Peabody Energy has a consensus “Hold” rating from six analysts, with one sell, three hold, and two buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is $33.88, above the reported share price of $24.43.
• Institutional investors own approximately 87.44% of the company, while Peabody’s stock has traded between $20.06 and $41.14 over the past year.
• Peabody reported a quarterly loss of $0.74 per share, missing analyst expectations of a $0.38 loss, although revenue rose 12.7% year over year to $1 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.88.

Several equities analysts have commented on BTU shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $26.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Peabody Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Benchmark lowered their target price on Peabody Energy from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE BTU opened at $24.43 on Thursday. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $20.06 and a 1 year high of $41.14. 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 has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.29 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.86.

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

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $0.0750 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is presently -20.00%.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is a global coal producer and energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The company mines, processes and sells thermal coal used primarily for electricity generation and metallurgical coal used in steelmaking.

Peabody operates mining assets in the United States and Australia and serves customers in domestic and international markets. Its products are sold to electric utilities, steel producers, industrial customers and other commercial buyers, with sales delivered through both seaborne and domestic channels.

Founded in 1883, Peabody has developed from a regional coal business into one of the world's largest private-sector coal companies.

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