Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25), Zacks reports. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 8.6 %

NYSE BTU traded down $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.43. 8,135,554 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,294,473. Peabody Energy has a 12 month low of $16.34 and a 12 month high of $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.89.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BTU shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

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.