Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Purchased by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 275.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,951 shares of the coal producer's stock after acquiring an additional 53,521 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.06% of Peabody Energy worth $1,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BTU. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 144.2% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 808.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,986 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 3,547 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 120.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,289 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 2,341 shares during the period. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $27.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.62. 1,440,609 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,232,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.52. Peabody Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $9.61 and a 1-year high of $29.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The coal producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.25). Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 8.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Peabody Energy Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.11%.

Peabody Energy Company 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.