Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target Raised to $43.00

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price target lifted by B. Riley Financial from $38.00 to $43.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the coal producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BTU. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.20.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $36.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of -81.96 and a beta of 0.52. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $9.61 and a one year high of $39.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 1.37% and a negative return on equity of 0.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -103.45%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $449,512,000 after buying an additional 1,191,438 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 19.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,208,031 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $123,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,531 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 8.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,459 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $117,363,000 after acquiring an additional 354,099 shares during the period. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 0.5% in the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,916,934 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $52,565,000 after acquiring an additional 18,920 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,603,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Peabody Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Peabody Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and higher price target — B. Riley raised its price target on BTU to $43 and reiterated a “buy” rating, signaling institutional optimism and providing fresh upside justification for investors. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large bullish options activity — Traders bought 21,779 call options (about a 94% increase vs. average), which is a near-term bullish signal and can amplify upward price moves as market-makers hedge. (Source: options flow report)
• Positive Sentiment: Operational update: Centurion longwall ahead of schedule — Company filings and the PR release note Centurion ramping faster than planned and that key operational/financial metrics met or exceeded 2025 guidance, supporting better cash-flow prospects. Peabody Reports Results
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075/share (payable March 10), which can support investor interest and income buyers even though the yield is modest. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings materials / transcripts available — Multiple transcripts and write-ups were published (call transcripts on MSN, Yahoo, Seeking Alpha), useful for investors digging into management commentary and forward guidance. MSN Transcript Yahoo
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results: slight EPS miss and revenue down year-over-year — Peabody reported $0.09 EPS (missed consensus by $0.01) and revenue declined ~9% YoY; net margin and ROE remain slightly negative, which tempers the bullish headlines. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade from Zacks — Zacks moved BTU from “hold” to “strong sell,” which may pressure sentiment among retail and some institutional investors. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation / downgrade commentary — Some analysts/commentators note that after a large rally (roughly 95% over the past year), near-term upside looks less compelling and valuation sits at the higher end of recent ranges, which could cap further gains. Seeking Alpha

About Peabody Energy

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.