Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target Raised to $34.50 at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group raised its price target on Peabody Energy to $34.50 (from $34.00) and kept a "neutral" rating, a target that implies about a 4% downside from the stock's current price.
• Analyst views are mixed: B. Riley and Jefferies have "buy" ratings with targets of $43 and $44, while Zacks and Weiss cut to "strong sell"/"sell"; MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $38.38.
• Shares traded up ~4.1% to $35.94; Peabody slightly missed Q4 EPS ($0.09 vs. $0.10), reported revenue down 9% year‑over‑year and negative margins, with small insider sales and ~87% institutional ownership.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $34.00 to $34.50 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the coal producer's stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential downside of 4.00% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on BTU. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peabody Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.38.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 4.1%

NYSE BTU traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $35.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,740,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,067,634. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of -79.86 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $39.95. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $34.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.42.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In related news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth $90,603,000. Sourcerock Group LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,092,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 19.3% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,125,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $449,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191,438 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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