Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target Lowered to $26.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $30.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the coal producer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 28.52% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on BTU. Benchmark raised their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $20.23 on Monday. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $19.58 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.56. The company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.99.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This trade represents a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BTU. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 139.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 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.