Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BTU. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.63.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE BTU opened at $31.93 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.96 and a beta of 0.63. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $11.00 and a 12-month high of $41.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In related news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 197.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 581,931 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $16,457,000 after purchasing an additional 386,470 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 354,099 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at about $772,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at about $1,830,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at about $8,552,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.