Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Position in Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 331.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,211,411 shares of the coal producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 930,451 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.99% of Peabody Energy worth $39,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 104.3% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BTU. Zacks Research cut shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.12.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of BTU opened at $23.73 on Friday. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $12.60 and a 12 month high of $41.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.78. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.97 and a beta of 0.36.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $973.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.42 million. Peabody Energy had a negative net margin of 3.07% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -30.30%.

Peabody Energy Company 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.