AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 645,934 Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 698.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 645,934 shares for a total of 738,425 shares valued at approximately $10 million.
• Peabody Energy reported a net loss of ($0.06) earnings per share for the most recent quarter, missing estimates, and experienced a 14.6% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075, representing an annual yield of 1.6%, while institutional investors hold 87.44% of its stock.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 698.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 738,425 shares of the coal producer's stock after purchasing an additional 645,934 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.61% of Peabody Energy worth $10,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 315.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,125 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 70.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in Peabody Energy by 84.9% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 714.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 4,009 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 2.3%

BTU stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.50. The stock had a trading volume of 4,914,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,844,008. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.92 and a 200 day moving average of $14.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $9.61 and a 1-year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The coal producer reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $890.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.27 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.43%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is 29.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.90.

Peabody Energy Company 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.