Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Sets New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $17.83 and last traded at $17.83, with a volume of 5209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 Monday, January 6th. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $23.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 0.99.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 139.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.