Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 77,009 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 46.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 90,368 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 77,009 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,400,044 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $29,317,000 after purchasing an additional 11,363 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 144.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,289 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Peabody Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 151,111 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BTU opened at $13.33 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.94. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $12.15 and a 52 week high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a net margin of 8.75% and a return on equity of 10.33%. On average, analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 11.11%.

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.