Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 19,800 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 52.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $36,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 139.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 5.2 %

BTU opened at $16.22 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.38 and a 200 day moving average of $22.63. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $15.79 and a 12 month high of $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

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.