Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Announces $0.08 Quarterly Dividend

Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.075 per share by the coal producer on Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th.

Peabody Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 9.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Peabody Energy to earn $2.34 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.8%.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

BTU stock opened at $15.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy has a 1 year low of $15.79 and a 1 year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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.

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.