Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target Cut to $24.00

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the coal producer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.84% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on BTU. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Friday. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.25.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $22.05 on Friday. Peabody Energy has a 52-week low of $17.71 and a 52-week high of $27.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.14 and a 200-day moving average of $24.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The coal producer reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 11.62% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $167,714.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,854,150.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Peabody Energy news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 31,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.48, for a total value of $814,850.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,262.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $167,714.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,150.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,806 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,565. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,080 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 55,525 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 54,025 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the period. 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.