Gotham Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 113,186 shares of the coal producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,370,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Peabody Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 323.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 248,891 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $6,605,000 after purchasing an additional 190,120 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 113.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,350,855 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 718,274 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,514 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 94.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,361 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 2,605 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BTU. Benchmark reduced their price target on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley reduced their target price on 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 Trading Up 2.7%

Peabody Energy stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,411,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,416,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.49. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $29.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.66.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $937.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $976.57 million. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.19%.

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.