Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 91.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,617 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 74,016 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 113.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,350,855 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after acquiring an additional 718,274 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the 3rd 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. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 105.5% in the 4th 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. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,484,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 547.9% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 273,529 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $7,259,000 after buying an additional 231,309 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

BTU stock opened at $13.72 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.86. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $12.15 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its quarterly 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 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. Analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.