B. Riley Lowers Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target to $32.00

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price target decreased by B. Riley from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the coal producer’s stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Peabody Energy’s Q1 2024 earnings at $0.30 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.71 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.83 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.86 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.70 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.58 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.11 EPS.

Separately, Benchmark restated a buy rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock opened at $24.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.98. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $17.71 and a 1 year high of $27.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.52.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.08). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $357,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,114.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $357,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,114.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $167,714.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,150.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,806 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,565 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,337,844 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $281,406,000 after purchasing an additional 397,931 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,371,250 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $181,321,000 after purchasing an additional 420,514 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,147,834 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $173,838,000 after purchasing an additional 273,768 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,729,856 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $163,968,000 after purchasing an additional 437,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,215,026 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $159,105,000 after purchasing an additional 649,904 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.