Quantbot Technologies LP Has $2.14 Million Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its holdings in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) by 39.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,633 shares of the coal producer’s stock after selling 52,435 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $2,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.44% of the company’s stock.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

BTU opened at $24.25 on Friday. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $20.21 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.98. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.87.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.16. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Peabody Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Activity at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.