Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Stock Position Raised by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 94.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,361 shares of the coal producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,605 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BTU. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 69.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock opened at $16.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $16.34 and a 12 month high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 7.94%.

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.