Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 246,500 shares of the coal producer's stock, valued at approximately $5,162,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Peabody Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 30.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 360,000 shares during the last quarter. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 132.2% in the fourth quarter. GeoSphere Capital Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 56,929 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,370,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 385,988 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $8,083,000 after buying an additional 34,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 93,047 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 3,214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Peabody Energy stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.75. The company had a trading volume of 4,579,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,423,917. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $9.61 and a 12-month high of $29.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $13.11 and its 200-day moving average is $17.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.49.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. The business had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BTU shares. Benchmark dropped their target price on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. B. Riley dropped 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.

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.