FIL Ltd Has $20.94 Million Stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

FIL Ltd trimmed its stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,000,000 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 383,000 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned 0.82% of Peabody Energy worth $20,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 144.2% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,289 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,762 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BTU. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark 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 Friday, February 7th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $12.74 on Friday. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $29.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.11%.

Peabody Energy Profile

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.