Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Hosking Partners LLP

Hosking Partners LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 856,139 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 238,231 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP owned 0.70% of Peabody Energy worth $17,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 139.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 69.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BTU shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark cut 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on 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 Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $13.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $13.68 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.95.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend 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.