Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Shares Bought by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 16.9%, now holding 679,655 shares valued at approximately $9.21 million.
• Peabody Energy's latest earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.06) EPS, missing analyst estimates and showing a 14.6% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 16.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679,655 shares of the coal producer's stock after buying an additional 98,020 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned 0.56% of Peabody Energy worth $9,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,474,000. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $2,094,000 after purchasing an additional 56,929 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $4,515,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 788,426 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $16,510,000 after purchasing an additional 164,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.14. 4,107,749 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,800,396. Peabody Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $29.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.53.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last released 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). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 3.43% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The business had revenue of $890.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group began coverage on Peabody Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley cut their price objective 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, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.60.

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.