Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.31, but opened at $35.71. Peabody Energy shares last traded at $36.1950, with a volume of 1,021,895 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $34.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.38.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.93 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.71.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The company’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $90,603,000. Sourcerock Group LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,092,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 19.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,208,031 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $123,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,531 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $38,125,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $449,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191,438 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.