Peabody Energy’s (BTU) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $28.00 price objective on the coal producer’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.93% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, B. Riley dropped their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.25.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock traded up $0.52 on Friday, hitting $22.06. 3,446,662 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,654,571. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.38. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $17.71 and a 12-month high of $27.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.01.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The coal producer reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.03 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.36%. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. Analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $357,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,114.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Peabody Energy news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the business’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 directly 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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $167,714.82. Following the completion of 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,806 shares of company stock worth $1,339,565. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 84.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 17,075.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 48,475.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.