Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys Shares of 280,960 Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 280,960 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,345,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,208,031 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $123,572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,531 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,459 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $117,363,000 after purchasing an additional 354,099 shares during the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 0.5% in the second quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,916,934 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $52,565,000 after purchasing an additional 18,920 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 29.1% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 2,422,266 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $64,238,000 after purchasing an additional 546,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the second quarter worth $28,092,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 2,151 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.26, for a total value of $73,693.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 82,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,803.56. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Darren Ronald Yeates sold 13,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $505,668.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,129,216. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 5.7%

BTU stock opened at $39.57 on Friday. Peabody Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $41.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of -87.94 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.04.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The coal producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 1.37%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. Peabody Energy’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Peabody Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Peabody Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Peabody Energy from $34.50 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.88.

Peabody Energy Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.