The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 134,630 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 67.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,443 shares of the coal producer's stock after selling 134,630 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.05% of Peabody Energy worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $15,352,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 113.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $8,565,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Peabody Energy by 105.5% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 646,152 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $13,530,000 after buying an additional 331,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $79,265,000 after buying an additional 215,614 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

BTU stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,579,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,423,917. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $9.61 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day moving average is $13.11 and its 200-day moving average is $17.77.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Peabody Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.075 dividend. 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 2.03%. Peabody Energy's payout ratio is presently 11.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BTU shares. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.