Vident Advisory LLC Grows Stock Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 187.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,081 shares of the coal producer's stock after acquiring an additional 22,884 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.2% during 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,785,337 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $79,265,000 after purchasing an additional 215,614 shares during the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,620,014 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $75,803,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,620,897 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $33,942,000 after purchasing an additional 33,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,543,915 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $32,330,000 after purchasing an additional 360,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTU stock traded down $0.48 on Friday, hitting $13.27. 844,595 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,448,057. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $9.61 and a 12 month high of $29.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.17 and a 200 day moving average of $17.04. 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 has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last released its 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 analysts' expectations of $976.57 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.