Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Given New $26.00 Price Target at Benchmark

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Benchmark from $30.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the coal producer's stock. Benchmark's price target would indicate a potential upside of 50.29% from the stock's current price.

BTU has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE BTU traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.30. The company had a trading volume of 4,827,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,451,754. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $15.79 and a 12-month high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 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.