Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 67,369 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,484,316 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 67,369 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.95% of Peabody Energy worth $279,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 56,675 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 54,025 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 17,075.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,374 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,912 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 2.5 %

Peabody Energy stock opened at $22.12 on Monday. Peabody Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $20.66 and a twelve month high of $27.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.97.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The coal producer reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 11.62%. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

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.