Chiron Investment Management LLC Purchases 32,422 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Chiron Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 368.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,222 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 32,422 shares during the quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,785,337 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $79,265,000 after purchasing an additional 215,614 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $77,473,000 after buying an additional 216,887 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the 4th 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,400,044 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $29,317,000 after acquiring an additional 11,363 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 113.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 13.4 %

NYSE:BTU opened at $12.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.92. Peabody Energy Co. has a one year low of $9.61 and a one year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS 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 paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BTU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a research report 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.