Jefferies Maintains Buy Rating On Peabody Energy (BTU)

Jefferies released a company note on shares of Peabody Energy BTU today. They wrote that "Peabody Energy, the largest global coal company with sizable production assets across the U.S. and Australia, appears poised to benefit from robust Chinese and Indian demand for thermal and metallurgical coals." Jefferies has a a Buy rating and $65 price target on the stock. During Friday's trading session, BTU has gained 1.21% to $41.12. According to the report, "Peabody believes these are still early stages of a long-term super cycle for coal - both thermal and metallurgical. Management expects global demand for steel to grow 50% by 2020 and expects metallurgical coal consumption to also increase by 50% to track steel production." Jefferies' $65 price target on the stock reflects an EV/EBITDA multiple of 7.7x their 2011 forecasted EBITDA of $2.5 billion and 13.5x 2011 EPS estimates.