Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU) Shares Sold by Chiron Investment Management LLC

Chiron Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Peabody Energy Co. (NYSE:BTU - Free Report) by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,800 shares of the coal producer's stock after selling 29,327 shares during the period. Chiron Investment Management LLC's holdings in Peabody Energy were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BTU. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 11,390.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Peabody Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Peabody Energy by 292.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the coal producer's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. 87.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peabody Energy

In other Peabody Energy news, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 10,000 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 65,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,759.20. The trade was a 13.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Peabody Energy Stock Performance

BTU traded down $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $22.33. The company had a trading volume of 858,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,975,309. 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 $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.95. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.89.

Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The coal producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Peabody Energy had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 14.74%. Peabody Energy's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Peabody Energy Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peabody Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Peabody Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Peabody Energy from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Peabody Energy from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of 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 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.