Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU)

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 price objective on the coal producer’s stock.

Separately, B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $28.25.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $22.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.01. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $17.71 and a 52-week high of $27.24.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The coal producer reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 11.62%. The business had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $167,714.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,150.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Peabody Energy news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $357,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,114.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $167,714.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,150.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,806 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,565. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 17,075.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 48,475.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

About Peabody Energy

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.