Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday raised its corporate credit rating on Peabody Energy Corp., citing recent financial improvement and stronger credit measures.
The agency boosted its rating on the St. Louis-based coal miner to "BB+" from "BB" and removed all ratings from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with positive implications on Aug. 11. The outlook is stable.
A "BB+" rating is the highest "junk-bond" rating and "BB" is one notch below that.
S&P also raised its rating on the company's unsecured debt to "BB+" from "BB" and kept the recovery rating at "3," indicating its expectation of meaningful recovery in the event of a payment default.
