Larson Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,350 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $89,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,019,000. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 580.4% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 54,153 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 46,194 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 91.4% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 70,674 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 33,758 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 2,651.2% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 89,002 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 85,767 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,446,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BTU shares. B. Riley boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Peabody Energy stock opened at $24.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.98. Peabody Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $20.21 and a fifty-two week high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

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.