Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Shares Purchased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 145.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,725 shares of the coal producer's stock after buying an additional 27,069 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 605,071 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $8,199,000 after buying an additional 15,572 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 48.1% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,051 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 52.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 34,126 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,695 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 12.3% during the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,328 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 6,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the first quarter valued at about $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 3.0%

BTU stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.29. 5,002,691 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,683,389. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.83. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.57 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 8.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BTU. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

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.