State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 6,990 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,065 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 6,990 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.07% of Peabody Energy worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BTU. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 62.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,757 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 6,844 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 139.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 14.5% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 60,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after buying an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 7.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 140,824 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $3,736,000 after buying an additional 9,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 69.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of BTU stock opened at $14.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.35. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.30 and a fifty-two week high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.08%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BTU. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 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.