Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 46,843 Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 82.7%, buying 46,843 shares to hold 103,501 shares (about 0.09% of the company) worth roughly $3.07 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but leans to a "Hold" consensus with a $35.63 target price, as analysts issued divergent actions (Jefferies raised its target and rating, while B. Riley and Weiss cut or downgraded theirs).
• Peabody reported a quarterly EPS miss ( $0.09 vs. $0.10 expected) with revenue down 9% year-over-year, paid a $0.075 quarterly dividend (≈1.1% yield), and its COO sold 13,892 shares in February.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 82.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,501 shares of the coal producer's stock after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Peabody Energy worth $3,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 763.4% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 258.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 880.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,647 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. B. Riley Financial downgraded Peabody Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Peabody Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peabody Energy news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 113,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of BTU opened at $26.53 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of -58.95 and a beta of 0.35. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $12.49 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $32.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world's largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company's operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody's product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.

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