UPDATE: Macquarie Capital Upgrades Peabody Energy Corporation to Outperform, Raises PT as Reduced Natural Gas Volatility Brings PRB Pricing Power

In a report published Tuesday, Macquarie Capital analyst Luke McFarlane upgraded the rating on

from Neutral to Outperform, and raised the price target from $20.00 to $24.00. In the report, Macquarie Capital noted, “We upgrade BTU to O/P from N and increase our TP to $24, from $20. We expect BTU to enter 2014 with 10-20% of its PRB tons unpriced, with every $1/t increase in PRB impacting 2014 earnings by 25-30 cents per share, or 86%. BTU's Australian assets will remain under pressure, and investors should remain conservative when modelling cost into 2014 given a portion of the 3Q cost reductions attributable to a higher mix of thermal coal and low benchmark pricing reducing coal royalties. We would use recent weakness to build positions.” Peabody Energy Corporation closed on Monday at $18.37.