Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Down 3.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Peabody Energy shares fell 3.7% to $22.89, with trading volume down 89% from the average. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $33.88 price target, although several firms recently reduced their targets; ratings include two Buys, three Holds and one Sell.
• Peabody missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting a loss of $0.74 per share versus the expected $0.38 loss, while revenue rose 12.7% year over year to $1 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, yielding 1.3% annually.

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 3.7% on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $22.77 and last traded at $22.89. 320,653 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 3,005,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $26.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Peabody Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.88.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $26.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.79. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of -15.17 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coal producer reported ($0.74) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.36). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 4.56%. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 0.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.0750 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is currently -20.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 1,513.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,178 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 286.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the first quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 298.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,310 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corp. is a global coal producer and supplier of energy and industrial fuels. The company mines, processes and markets thermal coal, which is primarily used for electricity generation, and metallurgical coal, which is used in steelmaking. Peabody also provides coal-trading and logistics services and works with customers to transport products to domestic and international markets.

Peabody operates mines in the United States and Australia, serving electric utilities, steel producers and other industrial customers.

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