Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Bought by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 251,078 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 52,960 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $6,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTU opened at $21.50 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.84. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy Co. has a one year low of $20.21 and a one year high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total transaction of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BTU shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

About Peabody Energy

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.