Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $17.83 and last traded at $17.83, with a volume of 5209 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BTU. B. Riley upped their target price on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

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

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 79.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 175,424 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $4,693,000 after acquiring an additional 77,525 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $1,714,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $77,473,000 after acquiring an additional 216,887 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $202,546,000 after acquiring an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 167.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 200,073 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 125,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.