Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $24.69, but opened at $26.25. Peabody Energy shares last traded at $26.06, with a volume of 276,796 shares traded.

The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Peabody Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 8.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BTU. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

Institutional Trading of Peabody Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Old West Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $976,000. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 12.3% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,065 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 4,059 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $253,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

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.