Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Coverage Initiated at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $14.00 price target on the coal producer's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BTU. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.60.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

NYSE BTU traded down $0.44 on Tuesday, reaching $15.60. The company had a trading volume of 5,849,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,729,755. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $13.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.73. Peabody Energy has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.57 million. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 10.05%. Peabody Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 144.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,474,000. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 56,929 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,515,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 788,426 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $16,510,000 after buying an additional 164,987 shares during the last quarter. 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.