By Gary Hoff

June 2, 2019 - Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BTU. Zacks Investment Research cut Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Credit Suisse Group began coverage on Peabody Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. MKM Partners set a $44.00 price objective on Peabody Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 8th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Peabody Energy to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Peabody Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock.

In related news, EVP A. Verona Dorch sold 33,527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $938,085.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,162,546.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider George John Schuller, Jr. sold 16,971 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $474,848.58. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,688.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,980 shares of company stock worth $1,426,069 in the last three months. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 90.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,593,969 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $92,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233,753 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 565.5% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,163,992 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $35,478,000 after acquiring an additional 989,090 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,642,244 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $50,056,000 after acquiring an additional 845,959 shares in the last quarter. Marble Ridge Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,414,000. Finally, Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 102.2% in the 1st quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,478,585 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $41,889,000 after acquiring an additional 747,217 shares in the last quarter.

Shares of NYSE BTU opened at $28.12 on Friday. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $26.61 and a one year high of $47.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 0.61.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The coal producer reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.65. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 10.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a boost from Peabody Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 16.51%. 

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business. The company operates through Powder River Basin Mining, Midwestern U.S. Mining, Western U.S. Mining, Seaborne Metallurgical Mining, Seaborne Thermal Mining, and Corporate and Other segments. It is involved in mining, preparation, and sale of thermal coal primarily to electric utilities; mining bituminous and sub-bituminous coal deposits; and mining metallurgical coal, such as hard coking coal, semi-hard coking coal, semi-soft coking coal, and pulverized coal injection coal.