Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 587,213 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 15,723 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $15,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 104.3% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 57.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 2.4%

Peabody Energy stock opened at $37.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of -83.98 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $39.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.88.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, B. Riley Securities increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,803.56. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.