Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 182.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,621 shares of the coal producer's stock after buying an additional 36,558 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 84.9% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in Peabody Energy by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BTU. B. Riley decreased their price target on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark decreased their target price 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.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU traded down $0.46 on Tuesday, hitting $12.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,992,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,566,011. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.52 and a 200-day moving average of $15.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.53. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Peabody Energy's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

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.