Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) COO Sells $505,668.80 in Stock

Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $505,668.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $34.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.35. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $39.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.33 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BTU shares. B. Riley Securities lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,135,096 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $449,512,000 after buying an additional 1,191,438 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,532,978 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $283,129,000 after acquiring an additional 306,187 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 8.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,459 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $117,363,000 after acquiring an additional 354,099 shares during the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 0.5% during the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,916,934 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $52,565,000 after purchasing an additional 18,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth $90,603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

About Peabody Energy

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.