HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 35,225 Shares of Peabody Energy Corporation $BTU

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) by 403.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,952 shares of the coal producer’s stock after buying an additional 35,225 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $1,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Peabody Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $90,603,000. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in Peabody Energy in the third quarter worth about $772,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Peabody Energy by 8.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,459 shares of the coal producer’s stock worth $117,363,000 after acquiring an additional 354,099 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $8,345,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Peabody Energy during the third quarter worth about $8,552,000. 87.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Peabody Energy stock opened at $30.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of -30.39 and a beta of 0.36. Peabody Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $12.58 and a 52-week high of $41.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.97.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The coal producer reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $973.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $977.42 million. Peabody Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 3.07%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Peabody Energy Corporation will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Peabody Energy’s payout ratio is -30.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BTU. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $30.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Peabody Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. B. Riley Financial lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Peabody Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peabody Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.13.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

Peabody Energy Corporation is one of the world’s largest private-sector coal companies, engaged primarily in the production and sale of metallurgical and thermal coal. The company’s operations span surface and underground mines, serving utilities, steel mills and other industrial customers that rely on coal as an essential component in power generation and steelmaking. Peabody’s product portfolio includes high-energy thermal coal for electricity generation and low-volatile metallurgical coal used in steel production, reflecting its diverse end-market reach.

Founded in 1883, Peabody Energy has grown from a regional mining concern into a global energy supplier.