Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 605,071 shares of the coal producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,572 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $8,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in Peabody Energy by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 70.7% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new position in Peabody Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 84.9% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Peabody Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley decreased their target price on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on Peabody Energy from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.60.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTU opened at $14.88 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.76. Peabody Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $9.61 and a fifty-two week high of $29.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The coal producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $937.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $976.57 million. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is 11.19%.

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.