Phoenix Financial Ltd. Makes New $38.13 Million Investment in Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter, purchasing 1.28 million shares valued at about $38.1 million. The position represented roughly 1.06% of the company.
• Peabody Energy reported a Q1 earnings miss, posting an EPS of -$0.26 versus expectations for a profit of $0.14, even though revenue rose 3.9% year over year to $973.3 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, and analyst sentiment remains mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $34.13.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,283,673 shares of the coal producer's stock, valued at approximately $38,125,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. owned approximately 1.06% of Peabody Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Peabody Energy by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Peabody Energy by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 27,849 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,982 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $24.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.50 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.23. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $12.58 and a 52-week high of $41.14.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.40). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The firm had revenue of $973.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. Peabody Energy's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -30.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BTU shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Peabody Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered Peabody Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.13.

Peabody Energy 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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