Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Down 5% – Time to Sell?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) shares fell 5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $13.96 and last traded at $13.98. 776,546 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,770,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

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’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.49.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. The business had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Long Focus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 96.7% in the 1st quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789,858 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $24,253,000 after acquiring an additional 879,800 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,406,307 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $19,055,000 after buying an additional 760,155 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $15,352,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at about $9,083,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 698.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 738,425 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $10,006,000 after purchasing an additional 645,934 shares during the last quarter. 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.