Thomist Capital Management LP Sells 10,160,355 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Thomist Capital Management LP lowered its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 95.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 533,817 shares of the coal producer's stock after selling 10,160,355 shares during the period. Peabody Energy accounts for 2.7% of Thomist Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Thomist Capital Management LP owned 0.44% of Peabody Energy worth $11,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,234 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position 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 worth $514,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.98. 4,602,357 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,429,519. Peabody Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $29.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $976.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

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.