Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,551,685 shares of the coal producer's stock after selling 826,206 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.81% of Peabody Energy worth $300,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BTU. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 323.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 84.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Peabody Energy in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 1,079.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,345 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

BTU traded up $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,814,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,018,661. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $17.71 and a 1-year high of $27.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.33 and a 200-day moving average of $24.53. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.99.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.08). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is 6.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $167,714.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,464 shares in the company, valued at $1,854,150.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 31,980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.48, for a total transaction of $814,850.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,307 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,262.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $167,714.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,150.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,633 shares of company stock worth $1,459,951 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.