D.A. Davidson & CO. Invests $391,000 in Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU)

D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,656 shares of the coal producer's stock, valued at approximately $391,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BTU. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peabody Energy by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Peabody Energy by 139.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Peabody Energy by 69.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Peabody Energy by 43.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the coal producer's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Peabody Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on Peabody Energy from $30.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Peabody Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BTU traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.80. The stock had a trading volume of 3,876,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,497,160. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.95. Peabody Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.40 and a fifty-two week high of $29.94.

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

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

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.