Cibc World Markets Corp Makes New Investment in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,838 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 646,152 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $13,530,000 after purchasing an additional 331,759 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,040 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 12,025 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 27,757.7% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,243 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 7,217 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $337,000. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $860,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock opened at $14.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.00. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $12.15 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. Research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.11%.

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.