Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Cuts Stock Holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lowered its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,938 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 973 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $202,546,000 after purchasing an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,580,014 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $95,014,000 after buying an additional 56,280 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 8.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $77,473,000 after buying an additional 216,887 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,422,400 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $29,785,000 after buying an additional 125,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,400,044 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $29,317,000 after acquiring an additional 11,363 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

NYSE BTU opened at $14.32 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.64 and its 200-day moving average is $20.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.94. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $12.15 and a 12-month 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.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark decreased 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 note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 note on Monday, December 16th.

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.