AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 698.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 315.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,125 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 70.7% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 84.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 714.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 4,009 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley raised their target price on Peabody Energy from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Peabody Energy from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.90.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of BTU traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,821,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,737,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.48. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $9.61 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85 and a beta of 0.64.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 analysts' expectations of $944.27 million. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.13%.

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.