B. Riley Cuts Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Price Target to $32.00

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) had its price target lowered by B. Riley from $34.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the coal producer’s stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Peabody Energy’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.86 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.58 EPS.

Separately, Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Peabody Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $24.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $17.71 and a 1-year high of $27.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.55 and its 200 day moving average is $24.53.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business’s revenue was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $357,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares in the company, valued at $619,114.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Peabody Energy news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $357,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,279 shares in the company, valued at $619,114.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $167,714.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,150.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,806 shares of company stock worth $1,339,565. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 49.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,873,533 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $193,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,595,279 shares in the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 2,249.0% in the first quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,104,738 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $51,629,000 after buying an additional 2,015,138 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 2,630.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,189,512 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $30,452,000 after buying an additional 1,145,947 shares during the last quarter. PointState Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter worth $27,379,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 106.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,154,535 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $52,398,000 after buying an additional 1,109,261 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.