Private Capital Management LLC Sells 131,000 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Private Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 131,000 shares during the quarter. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BTU. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $212,949,000 after buying an additional 8,020,670 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 113.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,350,855 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 718,274 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $202,546,000 after purchasing an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,484,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 547.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 273,529 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 231,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 2.8 %

BTU opened at $13.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $13.68 and a twelve month high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BTU shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Peabody Energy Company 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.