Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 71.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 632,581 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 1,557,560 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.50% of Peabody Energy worth $16,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Natixis grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 8,355.0% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 1,691 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the second quarter worth $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the second quarter valued at $78,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BTU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley raised their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $24.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.49. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $20.21 and a 52-week high of $27.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.02 and a 200 day moving average of $23.26.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The coal producer reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 12.69%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 8.36%.

Peabody Energy 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.