Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Acquires New Shares in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 15,519 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,889,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 327,601 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,766 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 5,940 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 57,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 19,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 79.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 175,424 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $4,693,000 after buying an additional 77,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BTU. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark cut their target price on 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 dropped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Peabody Energy stock opened at $13.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.94. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $12.15 and a 52 week high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS 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 forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.