Barclays PLC Grows Position in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 323.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 248,891 shares of the coal producer's stock after purchasing an additional 190,120 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Peabody Energy worth $6,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Peabody Energy by 265,937.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,023,686 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $212,949,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020,670 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 7.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,631,707 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $202,546,000 after buying an additional 540,219 shares during the period. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 3,580,014 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $95,014,000 after acquiring an additional 56,280 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Peabody Energy by 20.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,165,258 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $70,016,000 after acquiring an additional 531,440 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Peabody Energy by 14.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,388,681 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $36,856,000 after acquiring an additional 171,272 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

In other news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.52, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. This represents a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Peabody Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on Peabody Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of BTU stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.55. 2,499,751 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,953,854. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company's 50-day moving average price is $25.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.80. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $20.21 and a 12 month high of $29.94.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.94%.

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.