Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.25 EPS

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25), Zacks reports. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.06. 2,050,140 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,238,780. Peabody Energy has a one year low of $15.79 and a one year high of $29.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.16 and a 200 day moving average of $22.84. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 7.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

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.