Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Trading 5.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)’s share price shot up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $17.69 and last traded at $17.72. 1,226,614 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 3,307,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.87 and a 200-day moving average of $22.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.95.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 11.11%.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Peabody Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,556 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. 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.