Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target to $26.00

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price objective cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the coal producer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on BTU. Benchmark upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BTU opened at $19.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.66 and a 200 day moving average of $23.49. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 139.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. 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.