Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Raised to Outperform at BMO Capital Markets

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) was upgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $26.00 price objective on the coal producer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 18.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on BTU. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $22.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy has a 1-year low of $20.21 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.86. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $0.80 EPS. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peabody Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,533 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.