CIBC Asset Management Inc Takes Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 8,208 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 21.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,957,602 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $338,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,286 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,348,251 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $178,118,000 after buying an additional 618,395 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 20.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,165,258 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $70,016,000 after buying an additional 531,440 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,190,141 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $48,446,000 after buying an additional 26,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Peabody Energy by 2.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,352,067 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $29,908,000 after acquiring an additional 38,492 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $27.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $20.21 and a 12 month high of $29.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.76 and a 200 day moving average of $23.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 0.98.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 7.94%.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

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.