Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,700 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 63.3% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,556 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 69.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 5.2 %

BTU opened at $16.22 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $15.79 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. On average, research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.