Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Stock Price Down 4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) fell 4% during trading on Monday after B. Riley lowered their price target on the stock from $27.00 to $19.00. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Peabody Energy traded as low as $12.32 and last traded at $12.23. 1,209,550 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 3,171,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.73.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark 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 Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 144.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 327,601 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,889,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Peabody Energy by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,766 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 5,940 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Peabody Energy by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 57,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 19,800 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.77.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. On average, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.11%.

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.