Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 35,056 Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 58.8% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 35,056 shares to own a total of 94,632 shares worth approximately $1.28 million.
• Peabody Energy reported disappointing quarterly earnings, with a loss of $0.06 per share, missing analysts' expectations and experiencing a 14.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.30, with a yield of 1.8%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 58.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,632 shares of the coal producer's stock after purchasing an additional 35,056 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Peabody Energy worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,620,014 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $75,803,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 33,742 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,543,915 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $32,330,000 after buying an additional 360,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,518,351 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $20,574,000 after buying an additional 118,307 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 117.6% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,406,307 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $19,055,000 after buying an additional 760,155 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BTU shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Benchmark reduced their price target on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Peabody Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Peabody Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.90.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:BTU traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,649,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,345,004. Peabody Energy Corporation has a one year low of $9.61 and a one year high of $29.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.78 and a 200 day moving average of $14.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The coal producer reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 3.43%.The firm had revenue of $890.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $944.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is 29.13%.

Peabody Energy 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.