Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": Six analysts rate Peabody Energy a consensus Hold (1 sell, 3 hold, 2 buy) with an average 1‑year price target of about $35.63.
• Quarterly weakness and valuation gap: The company missed EPS ( $0.09 vs. $0.10 expected) and reported revenue down 9% YoY, while the stock trades around $26.53 (1‑year range $12.49–$41.14) and shows a negative trailing P/E.
• Heavy institutional ownership and insider sale: Institutions own roughly 87.44% of shares with notable buys from MFS and Vanguard, while COO Darren Yeates sold 13,892 shares (a 10.91% reduction), and insiders now own 0.51% of the stock.

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.6250.

BTU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Peabody Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial lowered Peabody Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth $90,603,000. Sourcerock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,092,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,208,031 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $123,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,531 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,125,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $449,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191,438 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTU opened at $26.53 on Monday. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $12.49 and a 1-year high of $41.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of -58.95 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.58.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Peabody Energy's revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -66.67%.

About Peabody Energy

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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