Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Makes New Investment in Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 673,518 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $9,039,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 96.7% during the first quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,789,858 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $24,253,000 after buying an additional 879,800 shares during the last quarter. Drummond Knight Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,196,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,083,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 698.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 738,425 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $10,006,000 after purchasing an additional 645,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPG Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the second quarter worth $8,243,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $28.44 on Wednesday. Peabody Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $35.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -98.05 and a beta of 0.57.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The coal producer reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.39). Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 0.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently -103.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $17.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $23.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a report on Monday, December 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

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.