Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Chiron Investment Management LLC

Chiron Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,800 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 29,327 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $212,949,000 after buying an additional 8,020,670 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $202,546,000 after acquiring an additional 540,219 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,580,014 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $95,014,000 after acquiring an additional 56,280 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Peabody Energy by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,165,258 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $70,016,000 after purchasing an additional 531,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 216,887 shares in the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

Shares of BTU stock opened at $22.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.89. Peabody Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $20.21 and a 52 week high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is currently 7.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BTU. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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.