Philadelphia Trust Co. Lowers Position in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

Philadelphia Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 13.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,661 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 7,609 shares during the quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 117.6% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,406,307 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $19,055,000 after acquiring an additional 760,155 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $15,352,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,331,000. Ranmore Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,337,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,543,915 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $32,330,000 after acquiring an additional 360,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BTU. UBS Group began coverage on Peabody Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:BTU opened at $17.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.53. Peabody Energy Corporation has a one year low of $9.61 and a one year high of $29.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.37.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The coal producer reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $890.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $944.27 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 29.13%.

About Peabody Energy

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.