Blue Trust Inc. Buys 1,139 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 11,390.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $28,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $48,446,000 after purchasing an additional 26,202 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,348,251 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $178,118,000 after buying an additional 618,395 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth $1,019,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 580.4% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,153 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 46,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 266.2% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 93,627 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 68,063 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

BTU opened at $23.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $20.26 and a twelve month high of $27.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.45.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The coal producer reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Friday, May 3rd.

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.