Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 315,481 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 25,118 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.26% of Peabody Energy worth $4,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,858,777 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $52,286,000 after purchasing an additional 73,440 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,009,472 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $40,395,000 after buying an additional 40,785 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 96.7% during the first quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789,858 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $24,253,000 after buying an additional 879,800 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,518,351 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $20,574,000 after buying an additional 118,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,513,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $20,317,000 after acquiring an additional 107,644 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 1.2%

BTU stock opened at $26.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.82. Peabody Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $9.61 and a fifty-two week high of $35.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.39). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.43%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -103.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the topic of several research reports. B. Riley upped their price target on Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $17.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

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.