Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Trading 5.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)’s stock price rose 5.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.67 and last traded at $13.58. Approximately 1,319,841 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 2,774,660 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark reduced their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 5.3 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $17.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.70. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $212,949,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020,670 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,346,729 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $153,841,000 after acquiring an additional 88,466 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,785,337 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $79,265,000 after purchasing an additional 215,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Progeny 3 Inc. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,620,014 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $75,803,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Peabody Energy

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.