What happened
Over the course of the past few trading days, coal mining company Peabody Energy's (BTU -1.21%) stock has been the subject of not one, but two analyst price target raises. As a result, week to date as of late Thursday its share price was up by almost 6%, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
The more hefty of the two raises came from Lucas Pipes of B. Riley, who cranked his Peabody fair value estimation nearly 30% higher to $32 per share (previously, it was $25). His peer Christopher LeFemina of Jefferies was more cautious, adding only $2 to his level for a new figure of $27. Both prognosticators maintained their buy recommendations on the energy stock.
Pipes' enhanced price target derives from an increase in his earnings estimate for Peabody's latest (third) quarter.
He now feels the company will book a net profit of $0.80 per share, which is some distance above his previous projection of $0.74. The new level is actually lower than the consensus analyst estimate, which stands at $0.88. The company has not yet set a date for that quarter's earnings release.
The reasoning behind LeFemina's price target increase was not immediately clear.
Now what
The two moves come amid something of a resurgence for coal, a "dirty" fuel source that has been more resilient than many expected in this age of green energy solutions. The war in Ukraine led to a dramatic lift in prices last year and while these have come down since, thermal coal exports from the U.S., for example, recently notched a five-year high.
