B. Riley Has Lowered Expectations for Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at B. Riley from $27.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the coal producer’s stock. B. Riley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 49.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BTU. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU opened at $12.74 on Friday. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.96.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $202,546,000 after purchasing an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,346,729 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $153,841,000 after purchasing an additional 88,466 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,785,337 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $79,265,000 after purchasing an additional 215,614 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,620,014 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $75,803,000 after buying an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $77,473,000 after buying an additional 216,887 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.