Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Peabody Energy Corporation has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with one hold and four buy recommendations among the five research firms covering the stock.
• The company's stock is currently priced at $16.91, with a market capitalization of $2.06 billion and a recent EPS loss of ($0.06).
• Peabody Energy has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 29.13%.

Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.90.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BTU shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,208,031 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $123,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,531 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,071,360 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $54,638,000 after acquiring an additional 212,583 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,916,934 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $52,565,000 after purchasing an additional 18,920 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,009,472 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $40,395,000 after purchasing an additional 40,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,092,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

BTU stock opened at $16.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.53. Peabody Energy has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $29.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The coal producer reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The firm had revenue of $890.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. Peabody Energy's revenue was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.13%.

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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