Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $26.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as low as $19.48 and last traded at $19.53, with a volume of 2679146 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.23.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark raised their target price on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Insider Activity

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 3.7 %

The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.00 and its 200-day moving average is $23.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

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.