Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Benchmark in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $28.00 price objective on the coal producer's stock. Benchmark's target price suggests a potential upside of 26.93% from the stock's current price.

Separately, B. Riley cut their target price on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.25.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE BTU traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.06. 3,446,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,654,571. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.01. Peabody Energy has a twelve month low of $17.71 and a twelve month high of $27.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The coal producer reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $980.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $167,714.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,150.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $167,714.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,854,150.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 31,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.48, for a total transaction of $814,850.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,307 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,262.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,806 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,565 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 17,075.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 48,475.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,939 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth about $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal, Seaborne Metallurgical, Powder River Basin, Other U.S.

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