Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Peabody Energy has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, which could impact investor sentiment toward the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, Peabody Energy has received mixed reviews from other analysts, with B. Riley upgrading their price target from $18.00 to $24.00 and rating the stock as a "buy."
• Peabody Energy's recent quarterly earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate and a revenue decline of 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

BTU has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Friday. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $17.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.20.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

NYSE BTU opened at $29.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $23.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.56. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $35.99.

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

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 19.3% in the second 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. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,071,360 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $54,638,000 after purchasing an additional 212,583 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 0.5% in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.4% in 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 period. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $28,092,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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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