Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Down 4% After Analyst Downgrade

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) shares dropped 4% on Monday after B. Riley lowered their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $19.00. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as low as $12.32 and last traded at $12.23. Approximately 1,209,550 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,171,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.73.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 144.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 327,601 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,889,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,766 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $916,000 after acquiring an additional 5,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 57,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 19,800 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 3.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.77.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.11%.

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.