Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Down 5.6% – Here’s Why

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)’s stock price fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $25.82 and last traded at $25.88. 2,713,423 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 2,973,880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BTU. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

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 $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.82.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This trade represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $212,949,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020,670 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,957,602 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $338,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,286 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,348,251 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $178,118,000 after buying an additional 618,395 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $202,546,000 after acquiring an additional 540,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 20.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,165,258 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $70,016,000 after acquiring an additional 531,440 shares during the last quarter. 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.