Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 20,646 Shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,279 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 20,646 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $4,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,889,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 327,601 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $6,860,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 43,766 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 5,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Peabody Energy by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 57,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 19,800 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Peabody Energy Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of BTU opened at $13.72 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.86. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $12.15 and a 1 year high of $29.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

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.