280,960 Shares in Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought 280,960 shares of Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) in Q4, a new position valued at about $8.35 million, representing roughly 0.23% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but centered on a "Hold" consensus with an average target of $38.88; several firms raised targets recently (e.g., B. Riley to $43 and Jefferies to $44).
• Peabody missed Q4 EPS ($0.09 vs. $0.10 expected) with revenue down 9% YoY, yet the stock opened at $39.57 (up 5.7%), and the company pays a $0.075 quarterly dividend (≈0.8% yield).

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 280,960 shares of the coal producer's stock, valued at approximately $8,345,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.23% of Peabody Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 197.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 581,931 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $16,457,000 after buying an additional 386,470 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 8.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,459 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $117,363,000 after acquiring an additional 354,099 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $772,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,830,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,552,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BTU shares. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research cut Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.88.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 5.7%

NYSE BTU opened at $39.57 on Friday. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -87.94 and a beta of 0.54. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $35.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total transaction of $73,693.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,803.56. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares in the company, valued at $4,129,216. This trade represents a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world's largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company's operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody's product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.

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