Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Position Trimmed by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTU. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $15,352,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $8,565,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 646,152 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $13,530,000 after acquiring an additional 331,759 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $4,515,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 6.0% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BTU. B. Riley lowered their price target 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. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 3.1%

Peabody Energy stock opened at $13.54 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15. Peabody Energy Co. has a one year low of $9.61 and a one 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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.57 million. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

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.

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