Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Down 4% on Analyst Downgrade

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 4% during trading on Monday after B. Riley lowered their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $19.00. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as low as $12.32 and last traded at $12.23. Approximately 1,209,550 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,171,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.73.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Benchmark dropped their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,346,729 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $153,841,000 after acquiring an additional 88,466 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,785,337 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $79,265,000 after purchasing an additional 215,614 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. increased its position in Peabody Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,620,014 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $75,803,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $77,473,000 after buying an additional 216,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,620,897 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $33,942,000 after buying an additional 33,742 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 5.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.50 and a 200 day moving average of $19.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. On average, equities analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

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.