Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $17.72 and last traded at $17.96, with a volume of 367439 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BTU shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 2.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.00.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

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

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $856,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $391,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,135 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,766 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 5,940 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $482,000. Institutional investors 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.