Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 760,155 Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 117.6%, acquiring 760,155 shares to own approximately 1.16% of the company, valued at $19,055,000.
• Peabody Energy reported a disappointing quarterly earnings result, with an EPS of ($0.06), missing estimates and representing a year-over-year revenue decline of 14.6%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, which will be paid on September 3rd, indicating a 1.7% yield for shareholders.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 117.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,406,307 shares of the coal producer's stock after purchasing an additional 760,155 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 1.16% of Peabody Energy worth $19,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 315.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,125 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 70.7% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 1.9%

BTU stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $17.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,789,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,937,122. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 0.53. Peabody Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The coal producer reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The company 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%. Peabody Energy's quarterly revenue was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is 29.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BTU shares. Benchmark cut their price objective on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Peabody Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Peabody Energy 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.