Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Trading 7% Higher

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) shares traded up 7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $23.90 and last traded at $23.67. 560,157 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 3,241,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.12. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.86.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The coal producer reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 11.62% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The business had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. Peabody Energy’s revenue was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 8.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 134,193 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,264,000 after acquiring an additional 32,775 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $5,208,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 189.8% during the first quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 579,500 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $14,059,000 after acquiring an additional 379,500 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,051,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,306 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

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.