Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.08

Key Points

• Peabody Energy Corporation has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08, with a yield of 2.00%, and expects to cover this dividend adequately with a projected earnings per share of $5.30 next year.
• The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.07, though there was a 4.7% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Peabody Energy is being closely watched by analysts, with a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $21.60.

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 31st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.075 per share by the coal producer on Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%.

Peabody Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 10.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Peabody Energy to earn $5.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.7%.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,348,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,715,649. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.52. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $9.61 and a one year high of $29.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $976.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. Peabody Energy's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. B. Riley dropped their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark lowered their price target on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Peabody Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 72,693 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,359 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 10,401 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter worth $261,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.