Cerity Partners LLC Buys Shares of 17,399 Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,399 shares of the coal producer's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BTU. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 84.9% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the first quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BTU shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.60.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of Peabody Energy stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.47. 5,162,385 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,742,935. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's fifty day moving average is $14.29 and its 200 day moving average is $14.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.52. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The company had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. Peabody Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is currently 11.19%.

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.