CWA Asset Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,550 shares of the coal producer’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Peabody Energy by 79.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 175,424 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 77,525 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,714,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,918,536 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $77,473,000 after acquiring an additional 216,887 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $202,546,000 after acquiring an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 167.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 200,073 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 125,244 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of BTU stock opened at $19.00 on Thursday. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $18.72 and a 12-month high of $29.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.66 and a 200-day moving average of $23.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 7.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on BTU shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Peabody Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th.

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.