Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 304,659 shares of the coal producer's stock after selling 42,232 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.25% of Peabody Energy worth $6,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BTU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,346,729 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $153,841,000 after purchasing an additional 88,466 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,785,337 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $79,265,000 after acquiring an additional 215,614 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,620,897 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $33,942,000 after acquiring an additional 33,742 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,422,400 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $29,785,000 after acquiring an additional 125,372 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,400,044 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $29,317,000 after acquiring an additional 11,363 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.11. 487,542 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,439,038. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.23 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 fifty day simple moving average is $13.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.16. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $9.61 and a 1-year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 EPS 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 company had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the subject of several analyst reports. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.