246,500 Shares in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 246,500 shares of the coal producer's stock, valued at approximately $5,162,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Peabody Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,234 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,556 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark decreased their price target 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 reduced their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

Peabody Energy Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of BTU traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.18. The stock had a trading volume of 3,000,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,461,746. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.15 and its 200 day moving average is $16.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The business had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.