Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to “Outperform” Rating

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $26.00 price objective on the coal producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BTU. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley upped their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 2.3 %

BTU stock opened at $21.50 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $20.21 and a one year high of $29.94.

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

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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.