Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.72 and last traded at $15.68, with a volume of 1925227 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BTU. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.95.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. Sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.