Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. lessened its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,319 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 2,044 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BTU. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 144.2% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,474,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 327,601 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $6,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,586 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,889,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,766 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 5,940 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BTU. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU opened at $14.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.17. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 0.49.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The business had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $976.57 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 11.11%.

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.