Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $19.81 and last traded at $20.05, with a volume of 1194848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly 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. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 7.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,023 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 43.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 69.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 145,613 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,865,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. 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.