Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,802 shares of the coal producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $74,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 227.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,699 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 23,393 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 21.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,957,602 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $338,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473,286 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at about $1,019,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at about $2,338,000. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 580.4% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,153 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after buying an additional 46,194 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on BTU shares. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley upped 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.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $29.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $20.21 and a 12 month high of $29.94.

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

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

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.