Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Time to Sell?

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) shares dropped 4.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $32.02 and last traded at $32.0750. Approximately 653,489 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 3,386,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Peabody Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.63.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.32 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.76.

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

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In related news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the company’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 transaction of $73,693.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Peabody Energy by 258.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.