Investment House LLC Purchases New Holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Investment House LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 15,000 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at about $182,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 195.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 130,756 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 86,573 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $261,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 787,687 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $20,472,000 after purchasing an additional 55,131 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,427 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total value of $357,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,114.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 31,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.48, for a total value of $814,850.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,307 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,262.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nicholas J. Chirekos sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.50, for a total transaction of $357,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,114.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,806 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,565 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:BTU opened at $23.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.98. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $17.71 and a 1 year high of $27.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.45.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.08). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BTU. B. Riley cut their target price on Peabody Energy from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Peabody Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

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.