Deutsche Bank AG Increases Stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 385,988 shares of the coal producer's stock after acquiring an additional 34,425 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.32% of Peabody Energy worth $8,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $15,352,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 113.5% in 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. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $8,565,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 646,152 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $13,530,000 after acquiring an additional 331,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,515,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.4%

Peabody Energy stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $13.78. 708,522 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,419,119. 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 company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.63. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. The firm had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BTU. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.