Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 593,570 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 15,352 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $15,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 79.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 175,424 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 77,525 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,714,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Peabody Energy by 8.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $77,473,000 after purchasing an additional 216,887 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $202,546,000 after purchasing an additional 540,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Peabody Energy by 167.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 200,073 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 125,244 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $19.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $19.58 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.95.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. Peabody Energy’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,759.20. This trade represents a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Monday, December 16th.

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.